Dutch armed forces to add drone operators to combat brigades

PARIS — The Netherlands will add specialized drone operators and counter-drone units to its combat brigades starting in April, according to Dutch Chief of Defence Gen. Onno Eichelsheim , who said the country is the first to take that step.

The Dutch armed forces already incorporate drones in their operations, and will expand that capability “significantly” by deploying 1,000 to 1,200 personnel specifically for drone and counter-drone operations, Eichelsheim said in the WNL Op Zondag podcast on Sunday.

Drones have become ubiquitous on the battlefield in recent years, with much of the development driven by the war in Ukraine, where the government says unmanned aerial systems now account for more than 80% of enemy targets destroyed. Meanwhile, Iran’s one-way Shahed drones have been causing destruction across the Middle East since the United States and Israel started striking the country.

“The lessons identified and learned from the war in Ukraine were in any case that unmanned systems were going to play a much greater role,” Eichelsheim said. “We’re seeing that now in the Middle East, and the same goes for the conflict with Iran.”

Eichelsheim said drone warfare requires a “completely different approach” to collaborating with industry on the front lines, as systems require continuous modernization and adaptation. That includes radars that have to be adjusted to respond to threats, or unmanned systems that become either more or less effective over time, the defense chief said.

“So you have to continuously adapt,” Eichelsheim said. “That too requires a change in how we operate.”

Armed forces across Europe have been trying to figure out how to adapt to an era of mass drone warfare, with Russia and Ukraine each using millions of drones a year in their war that has entered its fifth year. The Netherlands in December ordered Skyranger anti-drone cannons from Rheinmetall to protect maneuvering troops as well as static sites.

Regarding the conflict in the Middle East, the Dutch chief of defense said that while Iran’s defensive capabilities have been destroyed, the country retains a large portion of its offensive capabilities.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the U.S. was “getting very close to its objectives” in Iran, with the fight militarily won.

“Iran is still perfectly capable of launching ballistic missiles and maintain mobility regarding its launch sites,” Eichelsheim said. “So it is not quite as Mr. Trump says that Iran has been completely taken out. That is absolutely not the case.”

While the United States and Israel have air superiority, Iran has been clever about hiding launchers, and making them mobile, according to the Dutch general. He said Iran is “nowhere near halfway” through its missile stock, which makes it hard to say how long the conflict will continue.

The Netherlands and its allies are drawing up an inventory of the capabilities that could contribute to securing the Strait of Hormuz, to be able to brief policy makers on what the military options are, according to Eichelsheim. “We’re really still right at the very beginning of the planning process.”

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——荷兰国防部长奥诺·艾歇尔斯海姆将军表示，荷兰将从4月起在其作战旅中增设专业无人机操作员和反无人机部队，荷兰是第一个采取这一步骤的国家。

荷兰武装部队已经在作战行动中采用了无人机，并将通过部署 1000 至 1200 名人员专门用于无人机和反无人机作战，从而“显著”扩大这一能力。艾歇尔斯海姆在周日的 WNL Op Zondag 播客节目中表示。

近年来，无人机在战场上已无处不在，其发展很大程度上受到乌克兰战争的推动。乌克兰政府称，无人机系统目前摧毁的敌方目标占比超过80%。与此同时，自美国和以色列开始对伊朗进行打击以来，伊朗的单向“沙赫德”无人机一直在中东地区造成破坏。

艾歇尔斯海姆说：“从乌克兰战争中吸取的教训是，无人系统将发挥更大的作用。我们现在在中东看到了这一点，伊朗冲突也是如此。”

艾歇尔斯海姆表示，无人机作战需要与前线工业界采取“完全不同的合作方式”，因为相关系统需要不断现代化和调整。这位国防部长指出，这包括必须根据威胁情况调整雷达，以及随着时间推移效能可能增强或减弱的无人系统。

“所以你必须不断适应，”艾歇尔斯海姆说。“这也需要我们改变运营方式。”

欧洲各国军队一直在努力适应大规模无人机战争时代，俄罗斯和乌克兰每年都在持续五年的战争中使用数百万架无人机。去年12月，荷兰向莱茵金属公司订购了“天行者”（Skyranger）反无人机火炮，用于保护机动部队和固定阵地。

关于中东冲突，荷兰国防部长表示，虽然伊朗的防御能力已被摧毁，但该国仍然保留了很大一部分进攻能力。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普周六表示，美国在伊朗“越来越接近其目标”，军事上已经取得了胜利。

艾歇尔斯海姆说：“伊朗仍然完全有能力发射弹道导弹，并保持对其发射场的机动性。因此，伊朗并不像特朗普先生所说的那样已被彻底消灭。事实绝对不是这样。”

这位荷兰将军表示，虽然美国和以色列拥有空中优势，但伊朗在隐藏导弹发射装置和使其机动化方面非常狡猾。他还说，伊朗的导弹储备“远未达到一半”，因此很难预测这场冲突会持续多久。

据艾歇尔斯海姆称，荷兰及其盟友正在编制一份可用于保障霍尔木兹海峡安全的各项能力清单，以便向决策者介绍可行的军事选项。“我们目前仍处于规划过程的初期阶段。”

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。