NATO operators have integrated Ukrainian drone experience into training in southern Sweden, where Ukrainian specialists supported counter-drone learning, Red Team activity and seminars on modern drone warfare.
The AURORA 26 exercise, Sweden’s first Aurora exercise as a NATO ally, ran from April 27 to May 13 across Sweden, the Baltic Sea and Gotland, bringing some 18,000 participants from 13 countries together, to include Sweden, to test Sweden’s NATO-adapted operational plans, host-nation support and reinforcement of strategically important areas.
Ukraine’s participation brought frontline lessons into the exercise, helping allied forces refine tactics for detecting, understanding and countering uncrewed aerial systems in a contested environment.
The exercise also tested airpower capabilites, with Swedish JAS 39 Gripens, Dutch AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, air defence assets and air-ground integration supporting the wider joint exercise.
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Image: NATO
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