Drones Have Not Replaced Artillery, But They Make It Harder To Fire

The Importance of Artillery to the Modern Battlefield

Despite their growing use, drones still face several limitations. There is an inherent trade-off between payload capacity, battery life, maneuverability, and flight speed. As a result, many drones lack the payload necessary to reliably destroy armored vehicles, fortified positions, and other hardened targets. Drones are also vulnerable to weather, terrain effects, and electronic warfare. In addition, most drone operations still rely on one operator controlling one drone, making it difficult to coordinate large-scale attacks involving multiple systems.

As a result, drones and artillery are often employed together rather than as substitutes for one another. Many of the drone-related effects are still caused by artillery, with a drone identifying a target followed by artillery delivering the destructive effects. The Russian Ministry of Defense posts videos daily showcasing artillery units engaging Ukrainian positions identified by reconnaissance drones. A number of Ukrainian units have posted similar videos on their social media showing this interplay between drones and artillery.

Artillery also performs functions that drones cannot easily replicate. Offensive operations require the ability to suppress enemy positions, neutralize defensive strongpoints, and shape the battlefield before an assault. A single artillery battery can deliver sustained fires across a large area and engage multiple targets simultaneously. Furthermore, artillery rounds can penetrate trees and light structures before detonating, allowing them to engage targets that are difficult for drones to reach. Beyond physical destruction, artillery is needed to suppress enemy movements, disrupt command and control, degrade logistics, and force units to remain under cover for extended periods.

Deploying Artillery in a Drone-Filled Environment

Historically, artillery units have employed a shoot-and-scoot approach in which a howitzer executes a fire mission and then relocates before enemy counterbattery systems can respond. Drones have accelerated this process. The battlefield is now filled with reconnaissance drones searching for artillery positions. Once an artillery unit is detected, drones can direct artillery fires, guide loitering munitions, or conduct strikes with bomber drones. Improvements in optics, thermal imaging, and image processing make it increasingly difficult for artillery units to remain concealed for extended periods. As a result, mobility, concealment, and rapid displacement have become critical to artillery survivability.

Both Russian and Ukrainian artillery units have adapted by combining concealment with rapid movement. In many cases, self-propelled howitzers remain hidden in secure positions until called upon to support a fire mission. They then move into pre-prepared firing positions, quickly fire a number of rounds, and immediately relocate. Videos released by the Russian Ministry of Defense show artillery crews deploying security personnel armed with shotguns to watch for approaching drones while the howitzer is in position and firing. Ukrainian units employ many of the same practices, relying on camouflage, dispersed firing positions, and rapid displacement to reduce their exposure.

Artillery units also rely on distance and mobility rather than just concealment. Instead of remaining near the front, they operate from rear areas outside the range of many enemy drones. When support is required, they move forward, stop briefly to fire, and then continue moving. Some systems appear to spend much of their operational lives on the road, using movement itself as a form of protection. Ukrainian artillery units have increasingly positioned their guns farther from the front line as Russian drone coverage has expanded, while Russian units have adopted similar practices in sectors where Ukrainian drones pose a significant threat.

These adaptations have reduced the volume of artillery fire that both sides can sustain. Early in the war, Russian and Ukrainian forces often relied on prolonged artillery bombardments involving large quantities of ammunition. Today, every round fired increases the risk of detection. As a result, artillery units spend less time in firing positions and often fire fewer rounds before relocating. Even with these adaptations and reduced rates of fire, artillery remains highly vulnerable. One Ukrainian officer noted that guns in active operation typically cannot go more than several days without being detected and targeted.

The Continuing Evolution Of Artillery

While artillery has been constrained by drones, fires will continue to play an important role on the Russia-Ukraine battlefield. Drones have been able to leverage advances in commercial technology, allowing them to evolve at a rapid pace. Artillery, on the other hand, has evolved more slowly, with both Russia and Ukraine relying increasingly on older platforms. As a result, both militaries have largely adapted through changes in tactics rather than new equipment.

New systems will incorporate better counter-drone protections, reduced visual and thermal signatures, greater automation, and increased mobility. Automation may prove particularly important, as it can reduce the time required to occupy a firing position, execute a fire mission, and displace before enemy drones can respond. Another approach is extending range, allowing fires to be delivered from locations beyond the reach of many battlefield drones and loitering munitions.

At the same time, militaries may begin exploring additional methods for delivering fires. Russia has already expanded its use of guided glide bombs to achieve effects once reserved for artillery. These systems can strike targets deep behind the front lines without exposing artillery crews and platforms to many of the risks posed by drones. Both countries will likely explore other alternatives that balance firepower, survivability, and cost.

Artillery is not disappearing from the Russia-Ukraine battlefield. Rather, it is adapting to a new threat environment. Drones have made artillery more difficult to employ, but they have not replaced the need for sustained, large-scale fires. The lesson from Ukraine is not that drones are replacing artillery, but that artillery must evolve to survive in a battlefield defined by persistent aerial surveillance. Given the central role of artillery in combat, the need for adaptation will not end as new technologies continue to reshape the battlefield.