Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Support of Artillery Operations

Authors

  • Valentina Bartulovic Croatian Defense Academy
  • Zvonko Trzun Croatian Defense Academy
  • Matija Hoic Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in Zagreb

Keywords:

unmanned aerial vehicle, artillery, forward artillery observer, Croatian Armed Forces, classes, artillery armament, structure

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) recently gain more importance due to their use in military operations and the fight against terrorism. Military forces must follow and encourage the development of modern technologies to improve their tactical and strategic capabilities. It has been shown that in the 21st century, the countries that more extensively use UAVs typically dominate in military operations. The UAVs development announces a significant change in the concept of warfare. An analysis of the UAVs’ employment in the Croatian Armed Forces (CAF) shows poor usage of the UAVs. This paper analyses the application of UAVs in the role of the forward observer for artillery operations, based on the experience of the armed forces worldwide. It is proposed to introduce UAVs into the artillery fire support system to increase the capabilities of artillery weapons, including the suggestion to equip the CAF with contemporary UAVs to match capabilities that the armed forces of some other countries have already achieved. 

Author Biographies

Valentina Bartulovic, Croatian Defense Academy

VALENTINA BARTULOVIĆ (vbartulovic@unizg.hr) is a participant in the 16th generation of cadets at the Croatian Defense Academy. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Military Engineering, specializing in Mechanical Engineering, artillery branch, from the Croatian Defense Academy “Dr. Franjo Tuđman”. After completing her undergraduate studies in 2022., she enrolled at the same academy for a Master’s degree. This article in Strategos is her first scientific article that emerged from her final thesis titled “Equipping Artillery Units with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.”

Zvonko Trzun, Croatian Defense Academy

Colonel Assist. Prof. ZVONKO TRZUN, PhD (zvonko.trzun@morh.hr) works as the head of Technical Research and Development Department at the Center for Defense and Strategic Studies, Croatian Defense Academy.
He teaches ballistics and other technical subjects at the university studies of Military Engineering and Military Leadership and Management. He received his doctorate at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Engineering in Zagreb, after which he was elected to the position of assistant professor in the interdisciplinary field of Military-Defense and SecurityIntelligence Science and Technology. The interdisciplinarity demonstrates through his scientific and teaching work, where he is particularly active (in addition to his home field of military systems) in areas of data security, information warfare and the use of artificial intelligence. He is involved in several development projects for the needs of the Croatian Armed Forces.

Matija Hoic, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture in Zagreb

MATIJA HOIĆ is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture of the University of Zagreb. He received his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Zagreb in 2015 and became an associate professor in 2023. His research interests include mathematical modeling of dry clutch dynamics, design of mechanical components of electromechanical systems with an emphasis on the design of experimental setups, and innovation of the operating mechanisms of material handling. He cooperated on several industrial research projects funded by Ford Motor Company, as well as a couple of EU funded projects. He is the author or co- author of 36 publications in refereed journals and conference proceedings. As a reserve officer of the CAF, he is involved in the classes related to artillery branch at undergraduate studies at the Croatian Defense Academy.

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Published

2023-07-11

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2023): Strategos Vol VII No 1, July 2023

Section

Original scientific work