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Is NATO ready to fight? The Ukraine war is raising doubts among military analysts
Reuters • • world
Key Points:
- Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and exposed challenges for NATO, as rapid battlefield developments risk rendering some alliance weapons and tactics outdated.
- Ukraine adapts quickly to new warfare technologies like inexpensive drones, which have significantly changed combat dynamics, while NATO's procurement and development processes remain slow.
- NATO exercises still assume control of airspace, a risky assumption given the rise of stealthy, long-range drones demonstrated in Ukraine, highlighting gaps in alliance preparedness.
- Europe's reliance on U.S. Patriot missile defense systems has revealed vulnerabilities, prompting efforts to develop independent air-defense alternatives such as the French-Italian SAMP/T-NG system and the Freyja consortium.
- Ukrainian officials are increasingly contributing lessons from the conflict to NATO, emphasizing Ukraine's advanced use of drones and electronic warfare, though NATO's military bureaucracy struggles to integrate these insights effectively.
