Thailand Adopts Ukraine-Style Drone Tactics in Conflict With Cambodia

Thailand has taken a significant leap in modern warfare, adopting drone tactics reminiscent of Ukraine’s battlefield innovations to strike Cambodian forces during recent border clashes, The Gaze reports, citing The Telegraph. 

According to analysts, the Thai military has surpassed even NATO in the use of quadcopters and other uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) in combat.

Last week, videos began circulating on social media showing quadcopters dropping bombs on Cambodian targets along the contested Dangrek mountain border. The five-day conflict, which ended with a ceasefire on Monday, claimed at least 35 lives and highlighted the growing role of drones in state-on-state warfare.

While Ukraine’s early drone strategy aimed to level the playing field against a materially superior Russia, Thailand, with its significantly more advanced military, used UAVs to assert dominance over a less-equipped Cambodia.

“Normally, the narrative with drones is that it empowers the weak actor,” said Marcel Plichta, a former U.S. defense department analyst and expert on drone warfare. “That’s Ukraine holding off Russia, or the rebels in Myanmar. So without any context, you would think that Cambodia would benefit from this drone revolution. But to date, the Cambodians haven’t really caught up to Thailand’s drone capabilities.”

During the conflict, Cambodia reportedly deployed surveillance drones, while Thailand launched a coordinated assault using quadcopters, FPV (first-person view) drones, and one-way kamikaze UAVs—many likely sourced from U.S. and Israeli defense companies. Last month, Thailand also tested a domestically produced kamikaze drone.

Dr. Rahman Yaacob of the Lowy Institute noted, “Ukraine and Myanmar are similar… in that they use drones for a multiplier effect against their opponent. I think Thailand has been watching and learning, and now they’ve used drones to target critical points in the Cambodian forces. The first target is the command posts, and the second is the ammunition depots. Once you hit these two positions, it causes chaos for command and country.”

Thailand’s drone success also challenged the prevailing Western belief that UAVs are ineffective in jungle warfare. “There was this assumption – mostly from the West, it’s not necessarily the view of Asian militaries – that drones wouldn’t be useful in this kind of conflict, because of the density of the terrain [and] foliage. But clearly, that’s not the case from the footage,” said Plichta.

Thailand outspends Cambodia on defense by more than fourfold and boasts a vastly superior air force. Analysts believe the recent clash may drive Southeast Asian nations to invest heavily in drone technology and rethink air-defense strategies.

Read more on The Gaze: Ukraine’s “Ursula”: The World’s Smallest Drone Carrier