FPV crews from 1 Corps Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine took part in the multinational Aurora 2026 exercises in Sweden, serving as OPFOR, a simulated adversary for NATO forces and partner nations.
Service members from the 1st Presidential Operational Brigade Bureviy and the 20th Operational Brigade Lubart operated reconnaissance drones and FPV systems, bringing real-world experience in high-intensity warfare to the exercise.
Their effectiveness proved so high that organizers were forced to revise exercise scenarios multiple times.
During a mechanized assault repelling drill, Ukrainian crews working alongside Swedish pilots from the Sweden UAV Center notionally destroyed 28 of approximately 32 vehicles. In another episode, they defeated a military airfield’s defenses in under 20 minutes without losing a single airframe, hitting every designated target.
Their participation in certain phases was restricted to allow other units to complete exercises without suffering total equipment losses to drone strikes.
Representatives of 1 Corps Azov also served as subject-matter experts for military personnel from Sweden, France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, sharing experience in UAV employment, unit coordination, and operations under active electronic warfare.
“,” said, a member of the Ukrainian delegation.
The Swedish Armed Forces’ Center for Unmanned Systems noted the high practical value of the Ukrainian servicemembers’ participation.
Photos provided by the Swedish Armed Forces.