{"id":72138,"date":"2026-03-23T13:08:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2026\/03\/23\/dutch-armed-forces-to-add-drone-operators-to-combat-brigades\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:20:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:20:37","slug":"dutch-armed-forces-to-add-drone-operators-to-combat-brigades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/23\/dutch-armed-forces-to-add-drone-operators-to-combat-brigades\/","title":{"rendered":"Dutch armed forces to add drone operators to combat brigades"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">PARIS \u2014 The Netherlands will add specialized drone operators and counter-drone units to its combat brigades starting in April, according to Dutch Chief of Defence Gen. <a href=\"https:\/\/english.defensie.nl\/organisation\/central-staff\/netherlands-chief-of-defence\" rel=\"\">Onno Eichelsheim<\/a>, who said the country is the first to take that step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Dutch armed forces already incorporate drones in their operations, and will expand that capability \u201csignificantly\u201d by deploying 1,000 to 1,200 personnel specifically for drone and counter-drone operations, Eichelsheim said in the <a href=\"https:\/\/npo.nl\/luister\/podcasts\/803-wnl-op-zondag\/138689\" rel=\"\">WNL Op Zondag<\/a> podcast on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drones have become ubiquitous on the battlefield in recent years, with much of the development driven by the war in Ukraine, where the government says unmanned aerial systems now account for more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2026\/01\/28\/ukraine-says-more-than-80-of-enemy-targets-now-destroyed-by-drones\/\" rel=\"\">80% of enemy targets<\/a> destroyed. Meanwhile, Iran\u2019s one-way Shahed drones have been causing destruction across the Middle East since the United States and Israel started striking the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe lessons identified and learned from the war in Ukraine were in any case that unmanned systems were going to play a much greater role,\u201d Eichelsheim said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing that now in the Middle East, and the same goes for the conflict with Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eichelsheim said drone warfare requires a \u201ccompletely different approach\u201d to collaborating with industry on the front lines, as systems require continuous modernization and adaptation. That includes radars that have to be adjusted to respond to threats, or unmanned systems that become either more or less effective over time, the defense chief said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo you have to continuously adapt,\u201d Eichelsheim said. \u201cThat too requires a change in how we operate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Armed forces across Europe have been trying to figure out how to adapt to an era of mass drone warfare, with Russia and Ukraine each using millions of drones a year in their war that has entered its fifth year. The Netherlands in December ordered <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/global\/europe\/2025\/12\/12\/netherlands-orders-skyranger-anti-drone-cannons-for-under-1-billion\/\" rel=\"\">Skyranger anti-drone cannons<\/a> from Rheinmetall to protect maneuvering troops as well as static sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Regarding the conflict in the Middle East, the Dutch chief of defense said that while Iran\u2019s defensive capabilities have been destroyed, the country retains a large portion of its offensive capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the U.S. was \u201cgetting very close to its objectives\u201d in Iran, with the fight militarily won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIran is still perfectly capable of launching ballistic missiles and maintain mobility regarding its launch sites,\u201d Eichelsheim said. \u201cSo it is not quite as Mr. Trump says that Iran has been completely taken out. That is absolutely not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the United States and Israel have air superiority, Iran has been clever about hiding launchers, and making them mobile, according to the Dutch general. He said Iran is \u201cnowhere near halfway\u201d through its missile stock, which makes it hard to say how long the conflict will continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Netherlands and its allies are drawing up an inventory of the capabilities that could contribute to securing the Strait of Hormuz, to be able to brief policy makers on what the military options are, according to Eichelsheim. \u201cWe\u2019re really still right at the very beginning of the planning process.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Dutch military will expand that capability \u201csignificantly\u201d by deploying 1,000 to 1,200 personnel specifically for drone and counter-drone operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":120409,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":46,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"9":{"categories":["unmanned","home"],"primary_category":"unmanned"}}},"categories":[160,46,11,36,27],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3427],"class_list":["post-72138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-europe","category-global","category-newsletters","category-unmanned"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"V2NECX2WSBA2BJNS6Z4DEMV73U","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/europe\/2026\/03\/23\/dutch-armed-forces-to-add-drone-operators-to-combat-brigades\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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