Drone trainer says robots should fight instead of people

Latvia should rely on aerial robots in war rather than sending people to fight “flesh against flesh”, Viesturs Silenieks, a board member of the Drone House training centre and a member of the National Guard, said in an interview with LSM.

Drone House brings together military personnel and enthusiasts for drone piloting, security audits and combat simulations. It is the largest drone training centre in the Baltics, LSM reported.

The idea for training National Guard members to use drones emerged among a group of colleagues in 2020, before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when drones were not yet a routine part of warfare, Silenieks said. He recalled that military leaders had questioned whether “toys” belonged in the army. Seeing how procurement and training programmes were progressing, the group concluded that Latvia’s combat capability with drones might otherwise take 250 years to achieve, he said.

The initiative led to the creation of the Drone Force – Europe association and later Drone House. The centre provides practical flight training and teaches people about drone technology and its uses. It works with the National Guard, the National Armed Forces, the State Police, educational institutions and businesses.

Drone skills can also support civil protection and corporate security planning, Silenieks said. Drone House runs a combat simulation in a populated setting and tests companies’ security, including through scenarios involving terrorist attacks. Such exercises are coordinated with security agencies, he said.

Silenieks discussed the centre and the role of drones in future warfare on LSM’s Formā! podcast.