The Role of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the Development of Command-and-control Systems: from C2 to C6ISR in Contemporary Combat Operations

Abstract

This paper examines how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) contribute to the transition from C2 and C4ISR toward C5ISR and C6ISR architectures. The study combines structured comparison with qualitative content analysis and focuses on three conflict cases: Syria, the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the war in Ukraine since 2022. The 2026 Middle Eastern escalation is included only as a provisional strategic-level plausibility probe. UAV-enabled integration is assessed through six dimensions: real-time ISR, sensor-to-shooter integration, decision support, communication resilience, cyber/EW resilience, and interoperability. The findings reveal a recurring gap between operational performance and system resilience. UAVs consistently enhance information collection, decision support, and engagement coordination, while communication continuity, cyber-electromagnetic resilience, and interoperability remain less developed. The study proposes a reproducible coding protocol, a functional UAV-role typology, and a configurational maturity model that shifts assessment from individual platforms to the reliability of the broader socio-technical information chain.