Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

The military use of unmanned aerial vehicles has drastically risen in the last few years, and so have the different areas of use, including unmanned aerial vehicles for logistical transportation. There are a few operations where this has been tested and a few studies to see if the vehicles are a good replacement or complement for traditional means of transportation. However, there have not been any studies that have analyzed unmanned aerial vehicles from the logistical perspective to see how they affect and contribute to the line of communication. 

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analyze unmanned aerial vehicles for the use of military transportation, with a logistical point of view. This will be done with the help of Kress theory of Operational Logistics, which describes different principles that the logistical planning needs to achieve to reach quality. 

What was discovered was that unmanned aerial vehicles have many strengths that could make it a good complement for traditional means of transport. For example, the economic advantages, the reduction of exposure for the pilot and the avoidance of enemy threats from the ground. However, there are many negative aspects that complicate the use of unmanned vehicles for transportation. They don´t have a good lifting capacity compared to ground convoys and manned helicopters. Moreover, they are sensitive to cyberthreats, system errors and bad weather. Lastly, unmanned arial vehicles are a good complement as a means of transport for specific operations, yet they cannot replace the traditional means of transport.