Defence Research & Technology Archives - ICDS

Defence Research & Technology

Russia’s War in Ukraine: Drone-Centric Warfare

In December 2024, Major Robert ‘Madyar’ Brovdi, a key figure in Ukraine’s drone warfare development, announced that his strike drone regiment would become a separate uncrewed systems brigade within the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Since 2022, Ukraine’s drone capabilities have expanded rapidly. Over a million drones have now been deployed. But this is not simply a question of numbers—the AFU has embraced a fully drone-centric military strategy.

Publications

Russia’s War in Ukraine: Artificial Intelligence in Defence of Ukraine

Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine is the first international conflict in which the opposing sides have actively developed and used artificial intelligence (AI) for military purposes. AI solutions for geospatial intelligence, operations with unmanned systems, military training, and cyber warfare have been key to success on the battlefield. This brief explores the state of defence AI in Ukraine and highlights the main lessons that can be learned from the Ukrainian experience.

Publications

Russia’s War in Ukraine: The Evolution of Grand Strategy

As Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its third year, we are publishing a second series of briefs on various aspects of the conflict. Many of the authors of these briefs are based in Ukraine.

Publications

Reining in Autonomous Weapons. Impact on Military Innovation – An Estonian Perspective

Robotic platforms, artificial intelligence, and weapons with autonomous functions have become central to defence innovation. Major powers rely on emerging technologies to achieve and maintain strategic advantages over their potential adversaries. Yet more developed AI-based solutions produce not only more sophisticated technologies but also a not-less-sophisticated set of problems.

Publications

Hedgehog Meets Dolphin: Can Estonia Adopt Singapore’s Secret Weapon—Defence Innovation?

Due to their limited human and natural resources, both Estonia and Singapore have become particularly open to technological development and innovation, the latter constantly ranked among the top innovators in the world (sixth in both the Global Innovation Index 2016 and the Bloomberg Innovation Index 2017).

Publications

Arming Ukraine: Capability Requirements—a View from Kyiv

International military-technical aid is currently one of the key factors that can transform Ukraine’s security and defence capabilities, primarily those of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), into an effective instrument to contain Russian aggression.

News

The Future of Warfare

On 13 October ICDS Research Fellow Piret Pernik was interviewed by Debating Europe on the future of warfare.

Publications

Appropriate Level of European Strategic Autonomy

The European Commission’s communication of July 24th, 2013, “Toward a more competitive and efficient defence and security sector”, called for the creation of a strong and competitive armaments industry supporting the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

News

January 15, 2025

New Poll: Europe Anxious, The Rest Of The World Optimistic On Trump 2.0; Many See EU As Player Equal To The Us and China – and Growth Of European Power in Coming Decade
Donald Trump’s return to the US White House, next week, is widely seen as a...
December 20, 2024

Dr Kristi Raik to be appointed Director of the ICDS
Following an open competition, the Board of the International Centre for De...
September 30, 2024

New ICDS Japan Chair: Dr Bart Gaens
On 1 October 2024, Dr Bart Gaens joins the ICDS as the Japan Chair...
September 20, 2024

Estonia’s Foreign Policy Leadership After the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
An article „Grasping the opportunity for small state leadership: Estonia’s...

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