Small, Many, and Learning: Commercial Quadrotors, AI Assistance, and the Transformation of the Infantry Platoon

This paper develops a functional taxonomy of quadrotor employment (ISR, close strike, counter-UAS, swarm-infantry integration) and four theoretical theses on how commercial quadrotors with AI assistance are transforming infantry platoon tactics. Drawing on the Russo-Ukrainian war, it derives implications for NATO force structure and Italian defence planning.