The Czech Republic plans to equip its soldiers with small first-person view (FPV) drones for reconnaissance and attack.
Training courses for the capabilities’ full integration have begun in the Czech Army, setting the course for widespread drone deployment within three years.
The development is due in part to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, which spurred senior military leaders to collaborate with Ukraine in an initiative to supply them with drones and drone defense equipment.
“We are working intensively on the acquisition of especially small multicopters to obtain immediate situational awareness at the lowest levels of command,” army spokeswoman Colonel Magda Dvořáková said in an interview with iDNES.
Dvořáková added that the command intends to include drones in its arsenal across all units of the army, unlike the army’s ongoing reliance on special drone battalions.
Lessons from Ukraine
Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Karel Řehka explained that the assembly of Ukraine-bound drones in the country helped the army acquire necessary information that will help incorporate the technology on a larger scale.
Previously, only the army’s 533rd Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Battalion, 601st Special Forces Group, and 43rd Parachute Regiment were equipped with FPV drones.
Ukraine has used UAVs to carry out drone strikes on Russian oil refineries, armored combat vehicles, and other key military capabilities.
It is estimated that the country has integrated three times more drones into its force so far this year than in the entirety of 2023.
