Reserve officer uses Ukraine combat lessons to help the IDF counter drones

Lt. Col. V., a 49-year-old former senior hi-tech executive and reserve soldier since October 7, says his combat experience in Ukraine is now helping him push new ideas inside the IDF technology branch of the Armament and Technology Directorate. Born in Ukraine and brought to Israel in 1990 at age 13, he said he felt compelled to help once the war there began, first joining Israelis assisting Ukraine and later helping build fighting formations that operated on NATO methods.

V. says Ukraine became a practical classroom for modern warfare, especially drones. He described the drone as a simple tool that can dramatically expand firepower and intelligence collection, but argued that the deeper problem is the pace of change it creates. “The battlefield has become transparent, everyone sees everyone,” he said. “It is not just the threat, it is the speed at which it develops. Whoever cannot keep up, falls behind.”

He said asymmetric warfare is about exploiting the weaknesses of the stronger side, and that the drone threat is only a symptom. “The real threat is the speed and availability of these capabilities,” he said. “It changes all the rules of the game.” After the war in Israel began, he was mobilized on October 7 and sent to Northern Command, where he said he identified gaps not because the military had not prepared, but because “large systems have a hard time digesting rapid change on the battlefield.”

In the IDF, he has been involved in training and in integrating operational and technological responses to drones, including promoting local developments. He says there is no single solution, only a layered approach combining technology, operational behavior, and deep understanding of the threat. “You need to stop thinking only about protection,” he said. “The challenge is not just to defend, but to control the threat. Whoever builds a fast, flexible system will win.”