Ukraine has trained more than 350.000 in unmanned systems since the war began. The organisation behind much of that effort, Victory Drones, comes to Kongsberg Agenda to put a hard question to Norway: Are we ready to do the same if needed?
The story of Victory Drones
When the front line stretched across hundreds of kilometres of open country, Ukraine could not wait for traditional procurement cycles or military pipelines. Civilians had to learn to fly, repair and operate unmanned systems at scale, and they had to do it fast. One example is their Folks FPV initiative — a free course teaching citizens to build combat-ready drones at home for frontline use.
Victory Drones helped build a large part of the training infrastructure for modern battlefield technologies. More than 350.000 civilians have passed through their courses - making it one of the largest civilian-driven defence training efforts seen in modern Europe.
At Kongsberg Agenda, they will walk through how it was actually done: How a nation engaged itself, what infrastructure had to be built, and which decisions made the biggest difference.
Drones are everywhere on the modern battlefield
The popular image of military drones is the kamikaze FPV. The reality is much wider. Reconnaissance, fire correction, logistics, electronic warfare, medical evacuation, mine clearance etc. Every part of the battlefield is now touched by unmanned systems, in the air, on the ground and at sea.
Drones are not a single weapon. They are a layer that runs through almost every modern military function, and the side that masters that layer keeps the initiative.
Technology literacy as a basic soldier's skill
If unmanned systems cover the whole battlespace, drone knowledge is no longer a specialisation. It is a baseline competence — and it does not stop at piloting. Radio, EW, software, data and cyber hygiene are becoming basic soldier skills too.
How do we train conscripts, reservists and the Home Guard in real drone work, at the scale our security environment now demands? Where does this fit alongside total defence, civilian preparedness, and the technology sovereignty debate Norway is already having?
Victory Drones will share what they have learned about building this competence quickly. Their open OSINT course is one example: a few hours of online learning gives anyone the tools to gather open-source intelligence, spot disinformation and apply basic cybersecurity in daily life.
What you will take away
This session is for anyone thinking seriously about Norwegian preparedness: from the Armed Forces and Home Guard to defence industry and the wider technology community.
You will leave with
- A clear picture of how Ukraine mobilised 350.000+ people
- A more accurate map of where drones sit on today's battlefield
- Concrete questions to bring back to Norwegian conscript training, total defence and industry partnerships
- Ideas for how Norway can build its own 'technological militarisation of society' in time, not in panic
Hvordan er denne programposten koblet til teknologi?
Drone warfare is the single most important innovation emerging fro the battlefield in Ukraine. VIctory Drones has learnt how to deploy and scale it across the whole population.
