Following the tactical innovations seen in Ukraine, several European nations are establishing dedicated drone testing and training facilities to prepare their military forces for modern warfare conditions.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine’s drone tactics have rapidly advanced from basic surveillance to sophisticated strike systems. Ukrainian forces now use everything from grenade-dropping quadcopters to long-range attack drones.
Defence News reports that Estonia has just inaugurated its first drone training center in the western part of the country. The €5 million ($5.7 million) facility, financed by Luxembourg, spans 1,300 square meters and includes “classrooms, storage, equipment maintenance areas as well as accommodations,” as detailed by Estonian public broadcaster ERR.
“The experience from the war in Ukraine shows that drones and unmanned systems are crucial in modern combat – developing Estonia’s defense capabilities requires that we elevate our drone training,” Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur stated.
Ukraine has quietly sent drone warfare instructors to Britain to train UK military personnel on the latest Russian drone tactics, The Times reports. The goal is to help British forces better prepare for future conflicts by leveraging Ukraine’s front-line experience.
Denmark is similarly investing in drone capabilities, announcing a new drone center at Hans Christian Andersen airport in Odense. The Danish government has committed $110 million to this initiative, with plans to train approximately 100 Danish drone operators by 2026.
“Obstacles to be expected in actual conflict include bad weather and enemy jamming of control signals,” notes Defense News.
Other European nations are following suit. Finland’s national drone strategy emphasizes investments in drone infrastructure, particularly large-scale laboratories and open-air test sites that can leverage the country’s challenging Arctic conditions. Meanwhile, Canadian company ZenaTech is establishing a beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone trial facility in Türkiye, scheduled to be operational in early 2025.
A 2024 survey by Eurocontrol across 31 civil and military test centers identified airspace integration, technical reliability, and privacy as the primary operational concerns for these facilities. The rapid development of these testing capabilities underscores Europe’s growing recognition of unmanned systems as critical components of modern military operations.
