NATO Reacts – But Not Where the Gap Really Is

Press conference summary:

Today, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and SACEUR Alexus Grynkewich addressed the Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace. The Alliance announced the launch of “Eastern Sentry.”

• More fighter jets for air policing.
• Additional ground-based air defense systems.
• A Danish frigate for the Baltic Sea.
• Focus: faster deployment, greater flexibility.

What has changed:

• NATO shows political unity: “every inch will be defended.”
• Operationally, the eastern flank is visibly reinforced – Poland, Lithuania, and Romania can count on more NATO presence in the short term.

What hasn’t changed – and why that matters:

• The cost asymmetry remains: we keep firing million-euro missiles at drones worth only tens of thousands.
• No mention of a low-cost counter-drone belt (jammers, interceptor drones, Skynex, mobile teams).
• Ukrainian lessons on effective, affordable drone defense have still not been integrated into NATO doctrine.

Why this is dangerous:

Putin deliberately probes red lines with drones – cheap, low-risk, politically effective. Every unanswered violation strengthens his calculus. As long as NATO responds only with high-end assets, Europe’s skies remain vulnerable.

👉 In my latest blog I outlined how a drone defense belt along NATO’s eastern flank could be built cost-effectively and immediately – as a second layer alongside existing high-tech systems.

This press conference shows: NATO is moving, but not yet where the real gap lies.

🔗 Read here: “A Drone Defense Belt for Europe’s Eastern Flank”