Jul 15, 2026 – 5.00amYou hear the whine before you see it. Tiny blades whirring, the small drone flies overhead, its operator looking through the camera lens for the best place to drop its beer bottle-shaped “bomb” with devastating effect. Target acquired, the payload is released over soldiers as they try to make their way into a compound of shipping containers.Fortunately, the bomb is fake, exploding harmlessly in a pop of smoke and sand.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Andrew TillettEurope correspondentAndrew Tillett is The Australian Financial Review’s correspondent for Europe, based in London. He was formerly foreign affairs and defence correspondent based in Canberra.Fetching latest articles
How Australia’s military is learning the secrets of drone warfare
Amid flak that Canberra was too slow into the unmanned flying machine era, instructors in Poland say battle-hardened Ukrainians are passing on their skills.
120 words~1 min read
