Bundeswehr tests drone-on-drone attacks and electronic warfare in Lithuania exercise
Around 2,900 soldiers take part in 'Freedom Shield 2026' in Pabrade, testing drone swarm attacks, electronic jamming and the harsh terrain near Belarus.
Drone-on-drone combat concepts
The exercise marks the brigade's first field test of drone combat concepts. Panzers were attacked by multiple drones simultaneously, and overhead, unmanned systems droned continuously. Brigadegeneral Christoph Huber showed Heeresinspekteur Christian Freuding drone command posts from which reconnaissance and strike drones can be controlled. Huber argued for procuring additional types of smaller kamikaze drones, particularly FPV (first-person-view) drones, which an operator steers with a video headset—a concept that has proved effective in Ukraine.
What we can detect, we want to be able to destroy immediately.
Electronic warfare on the eastern flank
Electronic warfare (EloKa) specialists deployed sensors and transmitters along the border with Belarus, 15 kilometres away. Their task: to intercept and analyse an opponent's military signals, secure their own communications with a 'protective shield', and gain the ability to jam the enemy. The systems are high-tech and classified; during the exercise, the EloKa component operated close to a potential adversary in an environment where both sides already observe each other intensively.
Mud and terrain challenges
The Pabrade training area, with sandy soil, pine forests and extensive marshland, poses heavy-going conditions. Several vehicles became stuck; a CV90 infantry fighting vehicle tipped over, and a Leopard tank slid into a bog during an evasive manoeuvre. In March 2025, four US soldiers died when their tank sank metres deep in mud at the same site. The risk is real.
Training for high-tempo combat
Hauptfeldwebel Philip, commanding a platoon of 34 soldiers including vehicle crews and 22 Panzergrenadiere, drove his unit hard in mock assaults. The laser-based AGDUS system recorded simulated kills and injuries, handing the soldiers both successes and bitter defeats.
In combination with the tanks, we Panzergrenadiere have enormous striking power.
A 20-year-old soldier named Fine, who was driving a Puma infantry fighting vehicle, faced the difficulty of the terrain.
Strategic context: deterrence and learning
The Panzerbrigade 45 'Litauen' was permanently stationed in Lithuania as a deterrent against Russia. It is both a showcase project and a testbed for the Bundeswehr's goal of achieving 'war readiness' (Kriegstüchtigkeit). Military planners expect that future conflicts will blend old and new trades: drones complement but do not replace tank warfare, and the Ukraine war serves as a source of lessons rather than a NATO blueprint.
