N. Peter Kramer’s Weekly Column
NATO reported on its website about a large-scale exercise organised by a multinational battlegroup in Estonia. The soldiers had to train in temperatures of 20 degrees below zero. The military alliance is investing significant resources in defending its eastern flank. If Russia ever attacks NATO territory, it will likely target one of the Baltic States. Troops from NATO countries therefore have been stationed on the eastern flank for years.
But! It is questionable whether NATO troops are prepared if they are actually attacked. A few days ago, the Wall Street Journal reported about a large-scale exercise in Estonia last May. During that exercise, a handful of Ukrainian drone pilots managed to neutralise two NATO battalions, totalling over 1.000 soldiers. WSJ concluded : ‘Russia and Ukraine have shown the world what warfare will look in the future, and the US and its European allies are not ready for it yet’. Something similar happened last year when NATO had to deploy F-35s to neutralise several Russian drones that had entered Polish airspace. They were barely successful, and the cost of the operation was completely disproportionate.
Are the hundreds of billions for defense being spent wisely, in for 95 percent traditional weapons? At the Munich Security Conference Moritz Schularick, director of the specialised research Kiel Institute, said that over 800 billion euros in additional investment in the next years are ‘no guarantee that Europe will become more secure!’. He advocated for greater attention to innovation. Schularick advised companies to devise solutions to specific problems themselves and warned for the lengthy, EU bureaucratic tendering process.
What truly works on the ground? Europeans can learn a great deal from Ukrainians in this regard!
