NATO is not a fighting force in the twenty -first century. It should be, needs to enhance weapons

A senior leader of Bezhen said that NATO still has to work before the combat force in the twenty -first century must be, and the allies need to invest heavily in the local defense industries.

“I think it is a struggle,” said Admiral Pierre Vandier, who turned the leader of the NATO Supreme Alliance and the man who oversees the coalition updating efforts, during an interview with him this week in his office in Norfolk, Virginia.

In recent decades, NATO armies have mostly focused on low -insurgency operations in places such as Africa or Afghanistan, highly dependent on the transfer forces enabled by the unbalanced air powers. In this context, the allies thought differently in their defense, and the supportive industries did not focus sufficiently on preparing the coalition for a modern war against the supreme infection.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 led to warning bells throughout NATO, as Western officials warned that Moscow might feel the courage to enter Europe if it is not deterred adequately, providing an alliance with the possibility of a widespread or worse traditional war.

The past three years have witnessed many NATO countries that greatly enhance their defensive spending and buy more weapons. Countries along the eastern and northern edges – the front lines of the coalition, where they participate in the border with Russia – their defenses are hardening. However, many still argue that there is more work to do.

“I think we have forgotten all the great principles of a similar war, and so we need to re -invest,” Vandie said, referring to the conflict in which the fighters are equally compatible. He added that because the defensive industrial base has shrunk a lot over the years, its condensation is “very difficult.”

The presentation of high -end platforms such as warships, combat aircraft and missiles can be practical for years. For example, it takes the F-35 stealth, for example, about 18 months of construction.

Vandier warned that if a battle erupted before NATO enhances its defenses enough, the coalition may face a big problem.

He admitted that NATO still has a long way to reach his full potential as a modern combat force. Member States pledged to spend more GDP to defense, but the process of moving from financing to delivery projects is not fast.

“It is the issue of speed,” Vande said.

In 2014, when Russia illegally included Crimea, NATO members He agreed to spend 2 % From the national gross domestic product to defense. Since then, amid the increase in the Russian aggression, the number of allies who fulfilled or exceeded this goal increased steadily from three to 22 last year.

Earlier this week, NATO Secretary -General Mark Roti He said all the allies will reach a goal of 2 % This year, although it calls for heads of state to the approval of a new goal – 5 %, in line with calls from the Trump administration – at a top later this month.

“The truth is that we need a quantitative leap in our collective defense,” the two said in an event in London. “We must have more powers and capabilities to implement our defensive plans completely. The truth is that the danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends.”

Speed ​​update

In its pursuit of a modern combat power, NATO also focuses on integrating asymmetric solutions such as drones and other new emerging technologies in their planning. Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East highlighted the value of unintended regimes.

Vande and his allied leadership turns into the forefront of these efforts. One of the initiatives they put forward is the X business band, which is an ongoing experience in the Baltic Sea that uses drones, artificial intelligence and other technology to monitor the aggressive Russian activity in the region.

Unlike the purchase of traditional weapons in West, which can be slow, the X team is the NATO attempt to display its speed by spreading cheap and easily available systems to confront Russia. Simultaneously integrates emerging technology with traditional marine operations.

Vandier stressed the importance of achieving what he described as a “digital shift quickly.” He said that another important element in NATO efforts to update is to take advantage of the commercial space to improve driving, control, communications and computers, known as C4, intelligence, monitoring, and reconnaissance.

The leader said: “This is what I think, the most important fields of the alliance in the war.”

Meanwhile, NATO has just shared a contract with the American satellite photography company Planet Labs PBC in an agreement of its kind that would give the coalition expanded observation capabilities, helping it to track potential threats such as new defensive fortifications or the accumulation of large forces along the eastern edge.

Vande said that regardless of the United States, no other country in NATO had this ability, and stressed that if America burns all its focus on monitoring on the Pacific Ocean, the alliance must be self -sufficient and has the resources necessary to maintain the signs of the tab on Russia, Ukraine and the rest of Europe, from hats in the Black Sea.

The seven numbers agreement is another example of NATO’s efforts to update speed and install European defenses.

“We were able to do this within three months, from the idea to delivery,” Vande said. “Three months to find money, make the contract, and put it in this field.”