This spring, the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) used Ukraine's Delta battlefield management system for the first time during exercise Siil (Hedgehog). The Ukrainians set up their equipment and operated various drones in the same way they've learned during three years of war.

"There are so many drones flying at our exercise that I've never seen anything like it — it's constantly buzzing. Battlefield information from the drones was relayed within minutes," said Aivar Hanniotti, the Defense League's unmanned aerial vehicle coordinator.

The key lesson, said reserve Maj. Sten Reimann, who organized the participation of Ukraine's Delta system in the Estonian exercise, is that the kind of warfare we're used to could lead to defeat by nightfall.

"The old maneuver tactics — moving in large daytime convoys — just aren't viable on the battlefield anymore. In a worse-case scenario, we could lose an entire brigade by evening, or at least most of its combat equipment," said Reimann, who is currently in the reserves.

Reimann believes the Ukrainian system could be adopted in Estonia because it was developed under real combat conditions. The decision now lies with the Defense Forces.

"We're at a fairly critical decision point when it comes to adopting this in Estonia, and that's not up to me. The procedures for managing the battlefield need to be reviewed, and Delta supports that. We don't have the capacity to develop such a command solution on our own if we lack the knowledge of best practices in battlefield management. The Ukrainians have already gone through this," Reimann said.

The Ukrainians have learned that the zone behind the front line, stretching for dozens of kilometers, is a killing field — watched, hovered over and monitored by drones. They know that if you fight yesterday's war, you lose quickly.

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