Col Sandhir Kotwal
On 1 June 2025, Ukraine launched a massive, coordinated drone offensive deep into Russian territory, crippling infrastructure, overwhelming air defences, and rewriting the rules of 21st-century warfare. For corporates, especially those operating in sectors adjacent to defence, energy, and critical infrastructure, the operation is a compelling case study in strategic disruption.
Beyond the battlefield, it holds valuable lessons for India, not just militarily, but for national preparedness, defence tech collaboration, and private sector risk strategy, especially in light of India’s recent short war with Pakistan.
Strategic Significance and Global Impact
The Ukrainian operation is a landmark in modern warfare, underscoring the transformative role of drones in high-intensity conflicts. By penetrating deep into Russian airspace and targeting high-value assets, Ukraine has redefined the concept of strategic reach for non-state or resource-constrained actors. The use of FPV drones, supported by a sophisticated reconnaissance network, highlights the democratization of air power, where low-cost, attritable systems can challenge expensive conventional platforms. This operation has global implications, signaling to militaries worldwide that drones can shift the cost-benefit calculus of warfare, enabling asymmetric strategies to counter superior conventional forces.
The international community has taken note. The operation’s timing, coinciding with upcoming ceasefire talks in Istanbul, underscores its political weight, amplifying Ukraine’s leverage in negotiations. It also exposes vulnerabilities in Russian air defenses, prompting NATO and other powers to reassess their own strategies against drone-centric warfare. The proliferation of such tactics could embolden smaller nations or non-state actors, potentially destabilising regional balances where air superiority was once assumed.
Lessons for India from the Indo-Pakistan Conflict
India, having recently navigated a brief but intense drone and missile conflict with Pakistan in May 2025, can draw critical lessons from Ukraine’s success. The Indo-Pakistan crisis, triggered by a terrorist attack in Pahalgam, saw both nations deploy drones for surveillance, precision strikes, and probing air defenses, marking the first drone war between nuclear-armed neighbors. India’s Operation Sindoor utilized Israeli-made Harop loitering munitions and Heron drones, while Pakistan countered with Turkish and Chinese drones, including swarm tactics to overwhelm Indian defenses.
Integration of Drone Ecosystems: Ukraine’s operation highlights the need for a networked, multi-domain approach. India’s “motley force” of Israeli, Russian, and indigenous systems performed well but exposed integration challenges. Ukraine’s success in combining drones with reconnaissance and electronic warfare offers a blueprint for India to streamline its command-and-control architectures, ensuring seamless coordination across platforms.
Swarm Tactics and Air Defense: Pakistan’s use of 400-500 drones to saturate Indian defenses mirrors Ukraine’s swarm strategy. India’s S-400 systems effectively countered Pakistani drones and missiles, but the sheer volume strained resources. Ukraine’s ability to overwhelm Russian defenses suggests India must invest in deeper reserves of interceptors and counter-drone technologies, such as electronic jamming and laser-based systems, to counter future swarm attacks.
Asymmetric Warfare Mindset: Ukraine’s success comes from an adaptive, innovative mindset, leveraging tech solutions to punch above its weight. India, facing threats from both Pakistan and China, can adopt similar agility. Domestic initiatives like Artemon Aerospace’s loitering munitions and the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) are steps in the right direction, but India must foster a culture of rapid experimentation and private-sector.
Why This Matters to India-and Indian Industry
Security is No Longer the Military’s Alone:
Ukraine’s drone strategy blurred the line between military and civilian assets. Attacks on infrastructure, energy grids, and transport hubs show that corporate preparedness and national security are now interlinked. Indian businesses, especially in oil, logistics, telecom, and tech,must embed security contingencies into business continuity planning.
Private Sector Role in Modern Defence:
India’s drone and counter-drone ecosystem is in its infancy. Ukraine’s success came not from traditional military-industrial power, but from agile collaboration with startups, tech innovators, and civilian coders. Indian corporates can and must play a similar role,through defence R&D partnerships, hackathons, and DRDO collaborations.
Strategic Risk & Geopolitical Disruption:
The Ukraine-Russia conflict highlights how non-traditional warfare can disrupt supply chains, spike oil prices, and reshape risk maps overnight. Boards must reimagine geopolitical risk, not as a distant possibility, but as a live operational variable. A drone war in one part of the world could impact commodity markets and cyber exposure in another.
Lessons from the Indo-Pak Conflict
The recent flare-up between India and Pakistan again spotlighted the volatility of our western borders. Ukraine’s playbook offers India a chance to modernise its deterrence strategy, shifting from reaction to proactive, precise, tech-driven disruption. This opens new opportunities for Indian corporates to engage with defence innovation.
Conclusion
The 1 June drone strike was not just a Ukrainian military action, it was a global signal. The future of warfare and strategic influence lies in agility, intelligence, and integration, not just firepower. For India, and especially for Indian corporates, this is a timely call to align innovation with national resilience.
India’s next strategic advantage will not just be on the battlefield but in boardrooms, labs, and policy frameworks where the public and private sectors converge.
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