Germany's first "drone regiment" will be formed in 2027, with a depth of 500 kilometers, and ground robots will also be included

The picture shows the German Army testing various drones during the "Land Test Series" exercise. (Picture taken from German Bundeswehr)

[Reporter Wu Zheyu/Comprehensive Report] The Russia-Ukraine war has completely changed the status of drones in land warfare, and Germany is also preparing to formally incorporate relevant experience into its military establishment. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that the Army will establish its first dedicated "UAV Regiment" in 2027 to integrate aerial UAVs, ground robots, electronic warfare, anti-UAVs and deep strike capabilities up to 500 kilometers away, with the goal of achieving full combat capability in 2029.

The military news website "Defense News" reported that Pestorius announced the above plan on October 1 when he participated in the Army's "Experimentalserie Land" test at the Bergen military training ground. The German army tested aerial drones and unmanned ground systems at the same time this time, and the test content directly absorbed the actual combat experience gained from exchanges with Ukrainian frontline troops.

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Pestorius emphasized that in the future, ground robots will become as important a pillar of combat as aerial unmanned systems. The newly established UAV regiment will integrate reconnaissance, deep strikes, unmanned ground vehicles, electronic warfare and anti-drone defense into a unified command system, and will be incorporated into the 10th Armored Division as a division-level unit directly under the command.

The 10th Armored Division is also Germany's "2025 Division" with high combat readiness promised to NATO, and commands the deployment of the 45th Armored Brigade in Lithuania, making this drone regiment likely to directly become an important support force for the German high combat readiness forces in the future.

Lieutenant General Freuding, commander of the German Army, said that the German Army will adopt a "dual-track" development. On the one hand, it will establish a dedicated unmanned systems unit, and on the other hand, it will fully decentralize tactical unmanned aerial vehicles to existing combat units. It is expected that the direct deployment of tactical unmanned systems in the three major arms of light infantry, reconnaissance and armor will begin at the end of this year and early next year.

The new UAV regiment will initially have about 300 to 350 personnel in 2027, and will later expand to a maximum of 600 personnel. It will be composed of 5 to 6 companies, including close combat, deep strike, electronic warfare, anti-UAV and other units. There will also be a test company dedicated to testing new equipment to speed up the transfer of weapons from testing to actual combat use.

Among them, the deep strike unmanned system will be subject to the availability of commercial equipment, with a range of up to 500 kilometers; the German army is also preparing to introduce airborne attack munitions, which are currently under evaluation and are expected to begin delivery to troops in 2027.