NATO bolsters drone defenses after lessons from Ukraine conflict

NATO recognises that increasingly advanced drones pose a growing threat to naval vessels. Michael Stewart from NATO Headquarters believes that evidence of this has been provided by the war in Ukraine and the losses suffered by Russia in the Black Sea.

"Without a doubt, it was a warning for NATO and associated naval forces," said Michael Stewart, who spoke with journalists during the REPMUS exercises in Portugal. The annual manoeuvres organised by the Portuguese Navy and NATO are gaining more and more momentum. They allow for testing, among other things, the capabilities of aerial, as well as surface and underwater drones.

Many exercise participants emphasise that the development of drones has significantly changed the approach to naval warfare on the modern battlefield. Michael Stewart explained to journalists that Russia's war against Ukraine has made NATO realise how big a threat relatively cheap unmanned systems can be to naval vessels. He stressed that the lessons learned from the clashes with Ukraine were crucial to changes in NATO's approach.

"Ukraine's innovative use of unmanned systems in the Black Sea demonstrates the strategic value of drones in contested waters. Without a doubt, it was a warning for NATO and associated naval forces. (...) The ability of relatively small, agile, inexpensive drones to influence maritime operations increased NATO’s interest in strengthening the Alliance’s unmanned maritime capabilities," said Michael Stewart.

Stewart noted that NATO is aware of the challenges associated with cheap unmanned systems, including the high costs of launching expensive missiles to shoot down drones. NATO and the United States attach great importance to this problem.

The Portuguese Navy, one of the oldest maritime fleets in the world, also emphasises the importance of the development of drone technology - aerial, underwater, and surface - for naval forces.

Admiral Henrique Eduardo Passalaqua de Gouveia e Melo noted that cheap systems are a challenge for expensive manned warships, emphasising that using expensive surface-to-air missiles is not economical. As an example of the effectiveness of developing technology, he mentioned Ukrainian marine drones that successfully attack Russian units in the Black Sea.

Initially, Ukrainian surface drones were improvised constructs, but they quickly began to build more advanced units. One of the drones that Ukrainians now use most frequently is the Magura V5. This unit is about 5.5 metres long and about 1.5 metres wide. It reaches about 80 km/h speeds, carries up to 300 kilograms of cargo (e.g., explosives), and can cover up to 800 kilometres in a single trip.

Russian ships were also often attacked using Sea Baby drones, which are being systematically developed and improved by Ukrainians. Their load capacity reaches up to 860 kilograms. At an international security forum held in June in Odessa, the Stalker 5.0 surface drone was showcased. It can reach speeds of about 75 km/h and is equipped with the Starlink satellite system.

The Portuguese admiral noted that it is difficult to definitively identify the best technology for destroying drones. He predicts that it will be a combination of various systems: electronic warfare, energy weapons, conventional missiles, and in the future, new technologies such as lasers.