Sweden Deploys Drone Swarms

Another show of how important drones are in modern armies was on made recently by Sweden. Despite military funding being in short supply as defensive systems are boosted against Russia, Swedish army chiefs have put their faith in uncrewed aircraft by unveiling how clusters of drone swarms will be attached to ground and air units over the coming months.

According to the Swedish Minister for Defence, Pal Jonson, the drone swarms will be used for intelligence and surveillance operations. However, the move is seen as a significant step for how far military drone technology has come since the early days of single drones flying high over the deserts of Afghanistan armed with only a camera.

As part of the January 15th announcement, a video footage was released showing the drone swarms in coordinated flight. As the industry journal Defense News reported at the time, “a formation of 10 quadcopters is seen taking off [in the video demonstration] and relaying footage of their flight trajectory above snowy forests to ground operators. [Meanwhile] A Swedish voice-over explains that the drones’ high-resolution imagery and artificial intelligence-driven analyses enable commanders to have immediate and actionable insights for faster decision-making – military lingo describing the advantage of having flying eyes and ears for securing a perimeter.”

Alongside the Swedish Defence Material Administration, the Swedish Defence Research Agency, and the Swedish military, the aerospace company Saab played a key role in helping to design command and control software.

“The individual UAVs in the swarm are equipped with different capabilities, such as varying sensors, payload, and communication capacities,” explained a Saab spokesperson. “The swarms are controlled by a single operator who can assign … tasks to one or more swarms, for instance via a mobile phone.”

While drone swarms are still in their infancy, they are seen as having a vital role to play in future battles and general security. Terrorist attacks or Russian aggression in the region, for example on gas pipelines, could be identified sooner with the deployment of drone swarms. Giving conventional forces an earlier warning and more time to respond.

For this reason, many modern militaries are researching and investing in drone swarm technologies, with some, especially Sweden’s Baltic neighbours, keen to cooperate on the latest development from Stockholm.

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Similarly, military chiefs in Kyiv, have identified drone swarms as a top priority for 2025. As Nataliia Kushnerska, the head of the Ukrainian defence-technology hub Brave1, stated recently, “Ukrainian drone units are already moving beyond the initial concept of one drone, one operator and looking to transition towards drone swarms this year.”

Challenges do still remain, however. For example, so far drone swarms have been relatively limited in numbers. In the future it is thought that hundreds or even thousands of drones will be needed to be effective in over-running defence systems. This could put even highly valuable targets, such as nuclear power plants or aircraft carriers, at risk of drone swarm attacks.

Additionally, the drones flown in current swarms are very small and light. This is ideal for reconnaissance operations, but they will need to be made larger if they are to carry significant payloads or ordinance. Smaller drones are also more likely to be affected by weather conditions and to have a shorter flight time/range—both issues which will need to be addressed.

Once these problems are resolved, drone swarms are poised to revolutionize modern warfare and national defence. Their ability to operate in large numbers, autonomously or under centralized control, makes them highly effective for reconnaissance, surveillance, and targeted strikes, while minimizing human casualties.

A growing, swarming threat for any military not investing in its own drone fleets.

Photo credit: Freepik, macrovector, Gencraft, & Vecstock