The effectiveness of drone operators from the 1st Azov Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard forced a change in the scenario of the international military exercises Aurora 2026 in Sweden.
Azov Corps shared this with Militarnyi.
It was they who, during the April maneuvers, simulated the “destruction” of Swedish troops, as previously reported by the Associated Press.
Representatives of the Corps’ command and the UAV operator crews of the Bureviy and Liubart brigades took part in the active phase of the multinational exercises. They acted as a simulated adversary. Using their own combat experience and UAVs, National Guard soldiers demonstrated the realities of modern warfare to their allies.
The Azov Corps reported that, due to the effectiveness of FPV pilots, the organizers adjusted the scenarios and exercise plans several times. For example, during a test of the defensive capabilities of military airfields, Ukrainian drone crews breached the defenses in less than 20 minutes without losing a single aircraft and destroyed all designated targets.
During another exercise, the corps’ FPV crews detected and destroyed 28 simulated enemy pieces of equipment even before the main forces entered the battle.
And on the island of Gotland, the team of Ukrainian operators was the only one among representatives of various branches of the military to successfully hit a target and provide a real-time broadcast of the strike for the event’s guests.
“Due to the effectiveness of the Ukrainian crews, certain training scenarios were modified. At the same time, the participation of FPV pilots in some scenarios was limited so that other units could complete the exercises without losing equipment to drones,” the Azov National Guard Corps reported.
In addition, National Guard personnel conducted briefings for units of the Swedish Armed Forces and exercise participants from France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. They shared practical experience with the use of UAVs, unit coordination, and operations under active electronic warfare (EW) conditions.
The Swedish Armed Forces Unmanned Systems Forces noted the practical value of the Ukrainian military’s participation in the exercises.
Ukrainian operators were invited to Aurora 2026 to share their combat-proven knowledge and practical experience of modern drone warfare. The participation of the Ukrainians enhanced the realism of the exercises and provided valuable experience to Swedish and allied forces.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to gain this experience and will continue to use the knowledge gained to develop our capabilities,” the Center noted.
