Lt Gen Raj Shukla said drones now combine two attributes that traditional platforms often lack simultaneously: range and precision. He said this was a major change from the traditional role of artillery. Artillery was treated as an area weapon where several rounds would be fired at a target without knowing exactly which round would cause the desired effect. He said drones are changing that approach by allowing operators to identify where to hit, while speaking at 'The Cutting Edge' podcast with Col Anurag Awasthi (R).

“Field artillery is challenged and tanks are challenged,” Gen Shukla said during the discussion. He described the wider change as a “transition to precise mass”. He said future warfare could involve very large numbers of relatively inexpensive systems while retaining the ability to strike targets with precision. “Scale provides lethality; precision provides lethality,” Gen Shukla said.  

Drones can provide surveillance and precision strike capabilities at a relatively low cost. They can also attack individual targets rather than simply saturating an area with artillery fire. This has created a new relationship between drones and artillery. Ukraine has begun experimenting with formations that combine both systems. Drones can target enemy artillery and logistics, while guns can support infantry, suppress enemy positions and stop assault groups and armoured columns.

He linked this shift to artificial intelligence, software, satellite communications and battle management systems. A drone by itself is only one part of the system. He said, its effectiveness can depend on sensors, communications, navigation, artificial intelligence, battle management software and access to satellite networks.

The Russia-Ukraine war is changing the role of artillery and armoured platforms on the battlefield. Drones have become central to how targets are found, engaged and destroyed. At the same time, artillery has not disappeared. Instead, its role is changing as militaries adapt to a battlefield filled with persistent surveillance and precision strikes.

Ukrainian artillery units are adapting to this change. A study by The War Zone said drones have replaced traditional tube artillery as the dominant strike system along parts of the front. Yet Ukrainian commanders continue to rely on artillery for missions that drones cannot reliably perform.

Lt Col Vitalii Korniienko, commander of Ukraine's 7th Artillery Brigade, told Ukrainian media that around 95% of strikes are now carried out by drones. He said massing guns together for large artillery barrages has become increasingly dangerous because drones can quickly detect firing positions.

The Ukrainian approach is therefore moving away from large artillery concentrations. A typical artillery mission can now involve only a small number of rounds. Korniienko said that firing around 100 shells from one gun in a day could expose the position and result in its destruction. He said missions can involve as few as 5 to 10 rounds.

The continued importance of artillery is also visible in situations where drones face electronic warfare. Ukrainian commander Korniienko said some targets cannot be reached by drones because of electronic warfare interference. Weather can also affect unmanned systems. Nonetheless, artillery shells remain usable in fog, strong winds and snow.

The discussion highlighted that drones are not simply replacing artillery or tanks. They are changing the conditions under which these platforms can operate. Artillery units now have to conceal their positions, disperse their guns and move away from the traditional model of large firing positions.

The same challenge applies to armoured vehicles. Drones can observe tanks from above and attack specific vulnerable areas. These can include the turret, tracks, gun and other exposed components. The result is a battlefield where armour can be detected and engaged by relatively inexpensive unmanned systems before it can achieve its traditional battlefield effect.

The discussion around Ukraine also produced a broader concept of what Lt Gen Raj Shukla called a "transition to precise mass". The idea is that future warfare will not necessarily choose between mass and precision. Instead, militaries could seek to combine the two by producing very large numbers of inexpensive systems that can deliver increasingly precise effects.

This is where artificial intelligence, software and satellite communications become important. A drone by itself is only one part of the system. He said, its effectiveness can depend on sensors, communications, navigation, artificial intelligence, battle management software and access to satellite networks.

Ukraine's experience is already pushing its defence industry in this direction. Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council said in January that its industry had the capacity to produce more than eight million FPV drones a year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later said in July that the country was producing around 10 million drones annually, with plans to increase that figure further.

The scale of production matters because drone warfare is being increasingly becoming a contest of industrial capacity as well as technology. A military that can produce large numbers of drones, replace losses and continuously improve their software can create persistent pressure on an opponent.

This is also changing the meaning of lethality. Traditional military power often depended on the range, protection, firepower and survivability of expensive platforms. The emerging model places greater emphasis on the ability to find a target, transmit its location, process information and deliver a precise effect quickly.

Watch the full podcast: https://youtu.be/Iy_nspp82qI?si=mZOMbBuoQyOYmcDc

Savio Rodrigues

Savio Rodrigues is a Research Analyst at Escape Velocity MediaWorks Pvt Ltd and writes for Chakra News on Defence, Geopolitics, National Security. He holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Mumbai.