FPV drones: “The battlefield will change”

Moritz Böhm, an officer candidate of the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer), examined the military use of first-person view (FPV) drones in his bachelor's thesis. At “DroneVation & Defence 2025” he presented results together with Colonel Markus Reisner. In an interview, he explains the most important findings, the challenges in procurement and training, and his assessment of the role of drones on the future battlefield.

Officer Cadet Böhm, what is your bachelor's thesis about?
The main topic is describing the nature and effect of FPV drones. This also includes building such a drone yourself using simple means and analysing the effects on the battlefield at both combat and tactical level.

How did you come to this topic?
The bachelor's thesis topics were advertised, and since I have always had a great interest in aviation and am a hobby drone pilot myself, I chose this topic. My supervisor was Colonel Markus Reisner.

What are the central findings that can be derived from your work?
The battlefield is changing – and the FPV drone will play an essential role in future. It is economical, precise, powerful and can be produced in large numbers. It therefore has the potential to dominate parts of the battlefield. What is important, however, is this: complex weapon systems remain indispensable. FPV drones are an additional tool that extends one's own capabilities, makes them more efficient and conserves resources.

The relevance of the work is hard to overlook …
My work is intended to lay a foundation – as food for thought for decision-makers to rethink training and operational planning in the field of FPV drones.

How do you assess the cat-and-mouse game between dynamic technical development and established, institutionalised systems, for example with regard to procurement?
Development steps in FPV technology take around two months. That means: if you procure systems today, they have to be rethought again within a very short time. This makes the entire procurement process extremely complex and poses major challenges for everyone involved.

And on the battlefield? Will technology catch up with us there and at some point replace the infantry, for example?
No, definitely not. There will always be infantry, if only to take and hold ground. Drones provide additional capabilities – sensors, effectors, a denser situational picture and the ability to carry out precision strikes. They are a supplement, not a replacement.