Summary

News of the story "On Point" MINSK, 27 August (BelTA) – The experience of the Ukraine conflict cannot be incorporated into combat regulations, Andrei Bogodel, Candidate of Military Sciences, said in a recent episode of BelTA’s V Teme [On Point] project. “We talk about the experience of the special military operation, the experience of Iran, the experience of other wars. But look at this: neither the Russian Federation, nor the Republic of Belarus, nor Lithuania, Poland or other countries, including the United States of America, have rewritten their combat and field manuals to reflect these armed conflicts,” the military expert noted. Andrei Bogodel referred to recent reports that the United States is winding down and disbanding an experimental drone strike battalion in Europe established within the 173rd Airborne Brigade. In other words, the United States has concluded that the Ukrainian experience does not suit it. “These conclusions were made immediately after an exercise with the Ukrainians, where we were all told that some Ukrainian drone-equipped unit had completely decimated the U.S. forces. But the Americans are not fools; they understand and realize everything perfectly well. They said that a drone is primarily about artificial intelligence. A drone is only a tool for a soldier, just like a rifle or a grenade. And under no circumstances should we lose the soldier who is capable of operating as a soldier in these complex conditions. Therefore, anyone who applies this experience and takes it as the basis will most likely suffer a crushing defeat in the next war. That is why there has been no wholesale rewriting of combat manuals,” the expert explained. He agreed that control of the low-altitude airspace is becoming one of the key tasks for military units, while infrastructure warfare is also introducing new factors. “The issues of gaining air superiority, achieving fire superiority and using large formations, these are the new elements into which everything needs to be integrated, and we need to take a real look at the role and place of artillery, the role and place of aviation, and the role and place of large tank formations that will drive wedges into the enemy's defenses. That is what we really need to reconsider today. After all, no country, neither European countries nor the Americans, has abandoned tank production,” Andrei Bogodel stressed. He is convinced that artillery, despite the active use of unmanned aerial systems, remains the “god of war.” Moreover, an artillery shell has considerably greater destructive power than an explosive-laden drone. “People talk about 10, 20, 30, 50 or 100 drones per kilometer of the front. But everyone seems to have forgotten that at one point there was such a figure as 100-150 guns per kilometer of the front. Now imagine what artillery can do when it can deliver repeated strikes on the same area, essentially turning everything in front of you into a lunar landscape. Then add aviation dropping FABs and other bombs, and whoever survives will have no idea where they are or what is happening,” the expert said. “We talk about the experience of the special military operation, the experience of Iran, the experience of other wars. But look at this: neither the Russian Federation, nor the Republic of Belarus, nor Lithuania, Poland or other countries, including the United States of America, have rewritten their combat and field manuals to reflect these armed conflicts,” the military expert noted. Andrei Bogodel referred to recent reports that the United States is winding down and disbanding an experimental drone strike battalion in Europe established within the 173rd Airborne Brigade. In other words, the United States has concluded that the Ukrainian experience does not suit it. “These conclusions were made immediately after an exercise with the Ukrainians, where we were all told that some Ukrainian drone-equipped unit had completely decimated the U.S. forces. But the Americans are not fools; they understand and realize everything perfectly well. They said that a drone is primarily about artificial intelligence. A drone is only a tool for a soldier, just like a rifle or a grenade. And under no circumstances should we lose the soldier who is capable of operating as a soldier in these complex conditions. Therefore, anyone who applies this experience and takes it as the basis will most likely suffer a crushing defeat in the next war. That is why there has been no wholesale rewriting of combat manuals,” the expert explained. He agreed that control of the low-altitude airspace is becoming one of the key tasks for military units, while infrastructure warfare is also introducing new factors. “The issues of gaining air superiority, achieving fire superiority and using large formations, these are the new elements into which everything needs to be integrated, and we need to take a real look at the role and place of artillery, the role and place of aviation, and the role and place of large tank formations that will drive wedges into the enemy's defenses. That is what we really need to reconsider today. After all, no country, neither European countries nor the Americans, has abandoned tank production,” Andrei Bogodel stressed. He is convinced that artillery, despite the active use of unmanned aerial systems, remains the “god of war.” Moreover, an artillery shell has considerably greater destructive power than an explosive-laden drone. “People talk about 10, 20, 30, 50 or 100 drones per kilometer of the front. But everyone seems to have forgotten that at one point there was such a figure as 100-150 guns per kilometer of the front. Now imagine what artillery can do when it can deliver repeated strikes on the same area, essentially turning everything in front of you into a lunar landscape. Then add aviation dropping FABs and other bombs, and whoever survives will have no idea where they are or what is happening,” the expert said.