How Drones Fight

How Small Drones Are Revolutionizing Warfare

By Lars Celander, and Reviewed by Billy Croslow

Article published on: April 29, 2026 in the Winter 2026 edition of Army History

Read Time: < 4 mins

Casemate, 2024
Pp. xvii, 183. $24.95

Lars Celander’s How Drones Fight: How Small Drones Are Revolutionizing Warfare is a slim volume that assesses how armies have used small, unmanned, and remotely piloted systems in recent conflicts. His intent is to explain the technical details of these devices and assess the tactical ramifications of their employment. He uses recent historical examples, notably the Global War on Terrorism, Armenia’s fight with Azerbaijan, and the war in Ukraine, to offer insight into this emerging technology.

Celander begins his work with a brief examination of the terminology used throughout the text. He laments that, although different doctrinal manuals make some distinctions, terms such as drone, unmanned aerial vehicle or system, and remotely piloted vehicle often are used interchangeably. Because no common lexicon covers these devices, Celander spends his first chapter differentiating the machines. This effort to delineate the broad classifications of drones sets the tone for the rest of the volume.

Armed with this taxonomy, the volume’s assessment is tailored to the smaller, and often much cheaper, drones used in recent conflicts. This work does not dwell on larger systems, examine advances in artificial intelligence that offer some systems very high levels of autonomy, or discuss guided weapon systems such as cruise missiles. For those with little to no experience with small unmanned systems, this volume covers the essentials. It is an excellent primer, particularly useful for developing an entry-level understanding of these machines’ operations and the considerations for their use in combat.

After the introductory chapters, Celander leverages his engineering background to explain the principles of drone operations, going beyond the simple dynamics of flight to explore the challenges that military users of these systems face on the battlefield. The book has chapters on communication problems, concerns about weapon mounting, and other technical challenges faced by armies attempting to employ these devices. His chapter on sensor equipment is excellent. Celander explains complex systems—such as active, electronically scanned, array radars—with enough detail to demonstrate that he understands the topic but without overly technical details that might be lost on those without engineering backgrounds. Celander, who served in the Swedish military, is a systems engineer with an advanced degree in physics. Given this pedigree, one might expect this volume to be unapproachable except by fellow engineers. On the contrary, Celander’s succinct technical discussions offer the right balance of detail and operational context, making the volume a useful starting point for broader discussions.

Beyond the basics, though, this volume is not ideal. Celander’s chapters on the American experience in the Global War on Terrorism, Armenia versus Azerbaijan, and the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine lack sophistication. He does not spend much time covering the individual conflicts, and he does not mention the various types of systems employed by the armies involved. He uses some open-source examples from these conflicts to emphasize his earlier theoretical points. The lack of verifiable source material regarding Russian operations in Ukraine and the Ukrainian response justifies the shortness of the chapter on this conflict. The experiences of the Global War on Terrorism, however, are more accessible and might require more analysis than Celander offers. In his defense, Celander’s use of these historical topics was not intended to be in-depth. He offers these historical references to bolster his broader discussion on general drone employment not the detailed descriptions of individual drone engagements. This compromise ensures the chapters remain brief. Unfortunately, that brevity forces those wanting more historical details to look elsewhere.

Celander chooses not to wade into the ethics of drone use. By his own admission, it is a complicated topic that transcends his purpose. However, avoiding a discussion of the ethical employment of these kinds of weapon systems—particularly as these systems advance and proliferate across battlefields—leaves a gap in Celander’s coverage.

This work excels in explaining the technical complexities of small drones. For those new to this aspect of modern warfare seeking to gain a foothold in the topic, this volume will yield a great return on the time invested to read it. Despite its limitations, Celander’s How Drones Fight offers an excellent springboard into discussions on the emergence of small drones on the battlefield.