The nature of war has changed and is changing much faster and more radically than most observers—and most of the world’s militaries—yet understand. Rifles, mortars and tanks appear to be going the way of sword fights and cavalry charges. Evacuating the wounded from the ever-expanding drone-infested “gray zone” that separates opposing armies can take weeks, in some cases up to two months. That’s because teams of drone and unmanned ground vehicle operators must struggle to maneuver coffin-shaped evacuation platforms against swarms of hostile drones on a winding path through the war zone. In a war in which thumbs on joysticks have largely replaced fingers on triggers and more fighting is done on screens and less in the trenches, almost every assumption about what armies are and how they fight is being challenged and reshaped daily.

 

Ukraine Offers a Glimpse at the Future of War

The way armies fight is changing daily—and, at the moment, that favors Kyiv.

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By 

Walter Russell Mead

May 18, 2026 5:19 pm ET