Ukraine-Russia Drone Defense and Offense Escalate: Civilian Forces Become New Pillars of Air Defense
The Russian Ministry of Defense is unable to protect the tens of thousands of facilities across the country, and no nation in the world can achieve this. Faced with thousands of incoming drones, it is simply unrealistic to intercept all of them. If civilian forces could coordinate with military operations, the situation would be greatly improved.
Russia has now permitted domestic large enterprises to purchase large-caliber weapons and specialized equipment for defense against enemy drone attacks. Currently, the civilian air defense system along Russia’s border regions has been initially established.
Ukraine has long faced similar challenges. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry cannot shoulder the entire national air defense mission alone. After the full-scale outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, the Ukrainian government swiftly launched a civilian air defense volunteer program, whose core objective is training ordinary citizens to assist the military in countering Russian drones—this model has proven highly effective.
The most famous initiative is the nationwide air defense program “Community Sky” («Небо громад»). Initiated jointly by the Ukrainian government and local communities, its funding comes from local budgets, private donations, and Western aid. It offers free training to civilians on operating interception drones; top-performing students are provided with ground control stations, drones, and countermeasures equipment. Civilian anti-drone units work in coordination with military air defense systems, radar, and electronic warfare assets. Those who successfully shoot down Russian drones or missiles receive cash rewards.
The greatest advantage of “Community Sky” lies in its decentralized structure: there is no central command headquarters. Instead, it is deployed in a distributed manner at the community level, making it extremely difficult to destroy all at once.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866576074934284/
Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author(s)