Modern Warfare in the Digital Age: A Discussion with MG Mick Ryan
Lecture Series by MWI: Discussion with Major General Mick Ryan
Get ready for an eye-opening chat, folks! On April 25, 2025, we were privileged to have MG Mick Ryan, retired Australian Army General, grace our West Point campus. He sat down with us to share insights about emerging trends in modern warfare, honing in on his recent battlefield experiences in Ukraine and Israel.
Drones, drones, drones! Ryan made it crystal clear that unmanned systems are revolutionizing the battlefield landscape. He drew our attention to Ukraine's Operation Spider Web, a historic drone strike that crippled approximately 34% of Russia's strategic bombers, showcasing the growing power of drones as strategic game-changers.
But it's not just about big numbers and strategic repercussions. The use of drones is also influencing the psychology of warfare. In both Ukraine and Israel, drone warfare is reshaping the operational landscape, imposing costs on adversaries and knocking down their air capabilities.These developments aren't just causing ripples in the immediate conflict zone; they're reaching as far as Europe, Washington, and global security considerations.
Ryan emphasized the importance of adaptation and innovation in modern warfare. He pointed to the crucial role of integrating unmanned systems into combined arms operations, boosting situational awareness and target acquisition. He also encouraged militaries to keep evolving, incorporating emerging technologies swiftly and finding creative, unconventional ways to maintain an edge in combat.
As we move into the future, the modern battleground will become more complex and multidimensional, with gray zone conflicts between states and non-state actors becoming the norm. Rapid integration of cutting-edge technologies like autonomous systems and augmented reality will drive change at a breakneck speed, demanding fresh doctrinal and strategic approaches. Failure to keep up could lead to diminished operational capabilities and limited decision-making options for military leaders.
Ryan strongly advocated for the harnessing of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and cross-domain information sharing to beef up defense capabilities. Future military victories will hinge on harmonious integration of manned and unmanned systems, leveraging real-time intelligence and cyber capabilities to outsmart advanced adversaries.
In essence, MG Mick Ryan's insights paint a vivid picture of modern warfare as a dynamically shifting battleground dominated by unmanned systems, innovation-fuelled asymmetrical tactics, and the need for agile adaptation based on experiences from conflict zones like Ukraine and Israel. The future of warfare depends on embracing these trends wholeheartedly at every strategic, operational, and tactical level.
We couldn't include all the exciting bits of information we gathered during our discussion with MG Mick Ryan—there was just too much gold to mine! But remember, folks: change is the only constant in the world of warfare, and staying adaptable is the key to success.
A big thank you to the West Point Class of 1982 for making the MWI Speaker Series possible. And a massive shoutout to Kyle Osterhoudt for the fantastic images!
Drone warfare, influenced by revolutionizing unmanned systems, is not only reshaping the operational landscape in conflict zones like Ukraine and Israel but also reaching global political arenas, influencing general news and war-and-conflicts discourse. The future of warfare hinges on the ability to adapt and innovate, incorporating emerging technologies like drones, artificial intelligence, and data analytics for a competitive edge in modern warfare.
