Governments in the far north and countries with access to the Arctic are trying to find new ways to use drones in extreme cold, as drones have proven effective in the Russian-Ukrainian war and tensions in the planet's northernmost region are growing due to major countries.
Reuters reports this after conducting a survey of 14 companies and six defense ministries and armed forces in Northern Europe and America.
Nordic countries are looking for ways to use UAVs in the Arctic
As the publication notes, in recent years, Russia and China have stepped up military activity in the Arctic, and NATO countries in the region have reported increased cases of sabotage on power and communication lines. In addition, President Donald Trump recently renewed US claims to Greenland.
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In parallel, the Russian-Ukrainian war has shown that unmanned aerial vehicles can provide critical reconnaissance and strike capabilities on the battlefield.
— The United States, which considers the Arctic a critical location for territorial defense and early warning of nuclear attacks, said in a July strategy document that it would focus on unmanned technologies to counter Sino-Russian cooperation in this area, — the publication recalls.
Already in July, Russian and Chinese bomber aircraft flew together off the coast of Alaska, and in October, Coast Guard ships sailed together through the Bering Strait.
However, drones of all types have vulnerabilities, and only the most advanced models have the capacity to cope with the cold, similar to that of aircraft. Today, cold, fog, rain or snow can cause a UAV to malfunction or crash.
As Reuters writes, in connection with this, a survey was conducted among representatives of enterprises, ministries of defense and armies of several countries, which showed that the industry is rapidly working on the purchase or development of drones capable of withstanding icy conditions, and among NATO countries, the demand for their acquisition is growing.
— We all have to catch up with Ukraine and Russia, — said Major General Lars Lervik, head of the Norwegian army.
There is no publicly available global data on the military drone fleets of states, but Lerwick says Russia's war in Ukraine has given Moscow and Kyiv valuable experience in using drone technology that NATO countries lack.
Russia, whose military began building a drone fleet in the Arctic in 2014, has taken a leading position in the race to control the Northern Sea Route, according to James Patton Rogers, a drone expert at Cornell University who has served as a policy adviser to the United Nations and NATO. passage between Europe and Asia along Russia's northern coast.
Russian company Zala Aero, part of the Kalashnikov concern, already offers drones designed for extreme Arctic conditions, and Russia has also said its long-range combat drone, the S-70 Okhotnik, can operate in temperatures as low as -12 degrees Celsius and will be deployed there.
— We're moving toward a point where Russia will have not only unarmed surveillance drones along the Northern Sea Route, but potentially armed systems that will patrol those areas on a continuous basis, — Rogers said.
He noted that NATO has been slow to develop a coordinated response. NATO has said it has strengthened its presence in the Arctic and created a new command to ensure the freedom and security of the Atlantic waterways; NATO countries are investing in new air and sea capabilities.
The Trump administration did not respond to a request for comment on this story, but in an email it said the U.S. will continue to prioritize security in the Western Hemisphere and its presence in the Arctic.
The U.S. has already invested heavily in long-range drones to monitor and gather real-time information in the Arctic, a vast region where radar and satellite coverage is limited. These drones can fly at lower altitudes for surveillance, but they are at the same risk of icing as smaller models.
The risk to drones is greatest at temperatures on either side of freezing, between 8 and -10 degrees Celsius, according to pilots and experts. A thin layer of ice forms on propellers and wings, ruining aerodynamics.
Kamikaze Drones in the Arctic
Weather-resistant models aren't the only solution. The U.S. Defense Department has said it will buy tens of thousands of cheap drones with a detonation capability in a program starting in 2023 that will focus on the Indo-Pacific region.
— Sometimes it's cheaper… to build something super cheap so we can have thousands of them and not worry about losing a few,— said Gregory Falco, head of the Aerospace Adversary Lab, a U.S. think tank that develops defensive and offensive capabilities for the Defense Department.
The cheapest small drones, used for basic tactical reconnaissance, cost between $3,000 and $35,000, experts say.
Larger models are more reliable but also more expensive. Medium tactical drones, which typically fly within a 200-kilometer radius, cost between $250,000 and $5 million. Large, long-range drones that operate like airplanes can cost more than $200 million each.
Many of the cheaper models are available on the open market, but the Russia-Ukraine conflict has demonstrated their limitations in winter. Nato countries want to test them more often in the Arctic, according to Rogers, a drone expert who serves as a policy adviser to the alliance.
In northern Europe, new NATO member Finland has become the first participant, using drones to patrol its border with Russia as part of a proposed “unmanned wall” aimed at protecting NATO's northeastern flank.
In 2023, Finland added 2,000 small drones to its army fleet of about 250 older UAVs. According to French manufacturer Parrot, they can fly in temperatures as low as -36 degrees Celsius. The Finnish army says they have already been used in winter exercises in the north of the country.
Other countries with territory in the region are developing plans to buy winter-hardy drones, allocating tens and hundreds of millions of dollars for this.
Denmark's Joint Arctic Command, responsible for security in and around Greenland, does not have a single drone. Last year, Copenhagen allocated $2.7 billion Danish crowns ($381 million) to buy two long-range models for use in the Arctic, and this week said it would buy two more drones. The country has also allocated 60 million crowns to buy smaller models, but has given no details.
Canada is buying 24 medium-sized and 40 small winter drones for its navy, the Canadian Armed Forces said in an email. The force currently operates about 150 older small and medium drones.
Norway, which serves as NATO's observer for a vast 2 million square-square-metre area of the North Atlantic, is buying 24 medium-sized and 40 small winter drones for its navy, the Canadian Armed Forces said in an email. km, said it would invest in long-range surveillance drones for a planned Arctic base.
According to the 2023-2030 procurement plan, the ministry also plans to buy weather-resistant drones for its army by 2030, costing between $25 million and $40 million.
Business tries to solve the UAV problem in cold conditions
The weather-resistant model of the drone that Finland bought can be purchased on the open market for about $9,000. It was designed for the US military and manufactured in the United States by Paris-based Parrot SA. On its website, Parrot said it had sold models to 19 countries, including Sweden and Norway.
In addition, governments and large aerospace companies are turning mostly to startups and smaller companies for innovative solutions, said Stacey Cummings, head of NATO's Support and Procurement Agency.
Small- and medium-sized drone makers are experimenting with blade shapes, such as propellers that spin so fast that snow or ice instantly turns to gas.
Small drones are easier to avoid in bad weather because they don't fly very far, experts say. Larger models have a range of hundreds of miles and fixed wings, making it more difficult to dodge rain and snow.
—There are definitely some issues, especially with humidity and icing, and also with some of the electronics as they get colder, — said Alex Larade, a Canadian lieutenant serving with the artillery unit of NATO's multinational brigade in Latvia.
He says NATO hasn't had the experience of operating in the Arctic to see how far it can go in terms of airspace.
Boeing, which built the cold-resistant craft, said the drone wasn't designed for icing conditions, but it's working with Norway's Ubiq Aerospace to optimize it.
One approach Ubiq is testing is adding a carbon fiber composite mesh that can be incorporated to conduct enough heat to the wing to melt any ice that forms.
Ubiq said it recently signed contracts worth more than $5 million to provide de-icing protection for drones with Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and has also struck deals to supply de-icing products for drones with the Norwegian Armed Forces and U.S. defense companies Textron Systems and Northrop Grumman.
Finnish company Nordic Drones also uses an automated system that helps its drones detect and avoid fog or snow. The company was acquired last year by Patria, a Finnish-Norwegian joint venture in which the Finnish government holds a majority stake.
