From the Guardian · · 1m 50s
Europe unprepared for Russia's drone warfare
Latvia's president warns NATO allies lack air defences and can't keep pace with Ukraine's rapidly evolving aerial combat.
In brief
Latvia's president warns NATO allies lack air defences and can't keep pace with Ukraine's rapidly evolving aerial combat. Europe faces a critical gap between the speed of drone warfare innovation in Ukraine and its ability to defend against Russian aerial attacks, with Patriot missile shortages making the problem…
Europe falling behind on drone warfare
Latvia's president Edgars Rinkevics warns that drone and aerial warfare in Ukraine is advancing at lightning speed, while Europe and NATO are struggling to keep up with the technological changes.
NATO lacks air defence capacity
Most NATO countries couldn't repel a Russian missile attack if the conflict expands. Rinkevics says air defence, drone defence and anti-ballistic defence have serious problems across the alliance.
“What we see is that air defence, drone defence, anti-ballistic defence has serious problems. And let's be frank. Ukraine has it. The whole of Europe and NATO has it.”
Patriot missile shortage crisis
The US has used nearly two-thirds of its critical interceptor stocks in Iran, and replenishing supplies could take five years. Ukraine and European allies face delays in receiving Patriot and other air-defence missiles.
US production outsourcing stalled
The US considered outsourcing Patriot production to Ukraine and Europe but no agreement has been reached. Rinkevics acknowledges technical licensing difficulties while noting Europe has limited capacity.
“Patriots are still one of the best, if not the best, to tackle this.”
Poland warns of Russian escalation
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that Russia could launch drone or missile strikes against NATO countries supporting Ukraine in coming months to test the alliance's collective defence commitment.
Russia testing resolve through hybrid attacks
Rinkevics says Russia will use sabotage, cyber-attacks and drone incidents to test European commitment to Ukraine, rather than launching a conventional invasion. A Russian drone was shot down over Lithuania this week.
Europe must increase defence spending
Rinkevics expressed concern about whether NATO allies will hit a five percent of GDP defence spending goal that the Trump administration expects. He stressed that building real capabilities takes time, not months or a year.
“Our message is also to do that, we need time. It cannot happen in a month, or in a year.”
What to remember
Europe faces a critical gap between the speed of drone warfare innovation in Ukraine and its ability to defend against Russian aerial attacks, with Patriot missile shortages making the problem worse.
