Britain is replacing tanks in a brigade stationed in Lithuania with drones in response to the changing nature of warfare, while plans are underway to increase the number of British troops stationed in Estonia.
Britain’s former defence secretary, Dan Jarvis, said in Tallinn last week that the nature of warfare is changing, and so must the response. He stressed that more mobile and skilled forces would be better able to confront the Russian army than units with traditional weapons. In addition to the changes in weapons, the British plan to send an additional 400 soldiers to Estonia.
The British unit in Lithuania will receive high-tech drones instead of tanks, and the British Ministry of Defence has announced that long-range drones will also be deployed in the Baltic states.
Tony Lawrence, head of the Defence Policy and Strategy Programme at the Tallinn Centre for International Security and Defence, said the lessons learned in Ukraine showed that tanks were losing their relevance. He added that this did not make tanks obsolete, but that they were simply more vulnerable in modern warfare.
The British decision also did not mean that they were planning to abandon traditional armoured vehicles altogether.
Britain has launched a large-scale purchase of Boxer infantry fighting vehicles, and these vehicles are already in use in Lithuania. Lawrence said that they were the mobile element that the British Ministry of Defence had been talking about in its statements.
The increase in the number of soldiers in Estonia reflects changes in London, as well as discussions within NATO. Lawrence said that it was about the commitment that the British wanted to demonstrate. Britain has not had a good record on defence spending, and the budget will remain tight in the coming years.
Lithuania has previously announced plans to purchase tanks, and Germany will deploy a tank brigade to Lithuania. Public statements have emphasized the brigade’s ability to use drones. Lawrence said that discussions are also underway in Estonia, which are particularly fueled by drone manufacturers who want to point out that this is the only way to go and that the Estonians are already far behind.
According to Lawrence, the type of weapons deployed in the Baltic states also depends on negotiations between individual NATO countries, as it is important to maintain a variety of weapons on NATO’s eastern flank in order to be able to respond appropriately in certain situations. There will always be differences in positions, Lawrence said, pointing out that Germany emphasizes the importance of weapons, while the British pay more attention to drones. This means that NATO must be relied on to smooth out the overall situation.
Read the full article in English here: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2998285/uk-swaps-tanks-for-drones-in-the-baltics-the-way-of-war-is-changing
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