Challenges to national defence in contemporary geopolitical situation

The transformation of the modern battlespace, defined by pervasive surveillance and precision-strike lethality, has fundamentally reshaped tactical logistical requirements. Last-mile logistics represents a critical vulnerability in high-intensity conflicts, where conventional crewed resupply is hindered by prohibitive risks and operational friction. The paradigm of Distributed Logistics in Contested Environments (DLCE) demands the integration of uncrewed and autonomous systems capable of penetrating Anti-Access/Area Denial envelopes under severe electronic warfare conditions. Nevertheless, a doctrinal gap remains in uncrewed aerial system (UAS) classification for logistics, existing North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the United States Department of Defense frameworks, primarily focused on mass and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, overlook logistical imperatives such as payload efficiency and specialized cargo requirements. This article evaluates current classification constraints and introduces the functionally oriented Military Logistics UAS Taxonomy (UAS-L). Through Multi-Criteria Decision-Making and tactical scenario validation, the study identifies optimal operational modalities for uncrewed and hybrid logistical architectures in near-peer conflicts.