A small reconnaissance drone hovers in the gray mist over the Life Guards' training facility outside Stockholm. Soon it hits its target – an armored vehicle.
Suddenly, an attack drone dives toward the target with an angry whine.
Drones are an obvious part of the Life Guards' exercises these days. It's about detecting, hindering and ultimately destroying the enemy - but also defending yourself against drones.
Much of the knowledge comes from when the unit trained Ukrainian soldiers in the UK in Operation "Interflex." Many of the Ukrainians came directly from the front and were able to share their experiences of drone warfare.
And the Swedes learned quickly. Soon, Life Guard officers were training personnel from other countries.
"During the operation, I would humbly like to say that we were by far the best," says Officer Jacob.
In Ukraine, drones cause around 80 percent of the casualties, on both sides.
The country has had to adapt quickly and has built an entire drone industry from scratch.
Small players
A forthcoming report from the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences states that the mobilization was possible thanks to thousands of small actors – small businesses and volunteers in garages – rather than large arms corporations.
The Life Guards have taken note of this. It's about experimenting and building yourself using 3D printers. They have benefited greatly from the unit's part-time employees, many of whom are civil engineers or students.
This mindset breaks with tradition in defense, where new gadgets are usually introduced through large procurements over several years.
The idea is that everyone should be able to fly drones. Attack drones require some specialist knowledge. But a simple reconnaissance drone should be manageable for almost any soldier.
"Everyone born sometime after 1970 has had a PlayStation controller," says Officer Gustav.
“Cat and mouse game”
The drone war also contains another dimension, a new kind of war where drones can find you inside houses and gun emplacements and soldiers live in constant fear of the whining propeller sound from a suicide drone.
"The Ukrainians jokingly describe it as the new Stuka bomber," says Officer Jacob, referring to Nazi Germany's howling dive bombers in World War II.
"They have countermeasures that are sometimes quite simple, and sometimes more technically advanced. The psychological part is difficult to prepare for. It will be a cat and mouse game for us too if we end up in war."
