Russia is advancing rapidly in drone technology.
Finland must move swiftly if it wants to keep pace in the fast-evolving field of drones, Jyri Kosola, a former research head at the Finnish Defence Forces, told Yle’s A-studio programme.
Time is running short for Finland to keep pace as drones transform modern warfare, according to Kosola.
The issue of drone threats flared earlier after several Russian drones violated Polish airspace this month. For the first time, Poland and Nato forces opened fire on the unmanned aircraft.
In Ukraine, the use of drones has expanded dramatically compared with earlier phases of the war. They now account for the majority of the country’s military losses.
“It’s a profound shift,” Kosola said, adding that Russia is continually developing its own drone capabilities, while also learning from how Ukraine and western-supplied systems are being used.
“Russia’s advancement in the field is quick. If Finland remains a mere spectator, we’ll be left behind,” he said.
Drones harness AI — and birds
Kosola told Yle that tomorrow’s drones will operate ever more autonomously, without human pilots. Prototypes are being developed that mimic the flight of birds, making them harder to detect, while underwater versions modelled on fish are already in use.
Kosola was part of a group that helped draft Finland’s drone strategy, published in January. That strategy, however, was mainly a conversation starter on the topic.
He questions why Finland is not part of last year’s drone coalition, which includes 18 western countries. By staying outside, he noted, Finland misses out on the intelligence that the coalition gathers and shares among its members.
Soon after the incidents in Poland, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen floated the idea of a ‘drone wall’, an air-defence system specifically designed to counter unmanned aircraft. Nato countries bordering Russia have already drawn up preliminary plans.
Kosola, however, said the term ‘wall’ is misleading: Finland could never erect a barrier capable of stopping every drone along its eastern frontier. He prefers to describe it as a shield.
The drones that penetrated Polish airspace were shot down by Polish and Dutch fighters. Last week, the Finnish Defence Forces told Yle that Finland would employ a similar approach.
Yet using fighters to intercept drones is prohibitively expensive. A ‘drone shield’ along these lines, Kosola notes, would run into the billions.
