Latvia tests NATO anti-drone systems, some not yet in service

Anti-drone technologies were tested at the Sēlija military training ground during the Baltic Trust exercise, with some systems not yet part of Latvia’s military arsenal, LSM reported. Around 650 participants from NATO member and partner countries took part in the exercise organised by Latvia’s National Armed Forces and the NATO Communications and Information Agency.

The tests covered both kinetic anti-drone systems and electronic systems that can affect an adversary’s drone without physically striking it. Demonstrations showed interceptor drones and other products developed by companies from several countries.

Exercise leader Intars Bērziņš said the training ground offered a unique opportunity within NATO to use non-kinetic anti-drone systems without restrictions. Companies taking part set their own objectives for testing drones and counter-drone equipment, he said, with some achieving their goals and others falling short.

The exercise aimed to strengthen the integration of unmanned and counter-drone defence systems into combat operations and improve participants’ ability to respond to reconnaissance and attack drones.

The training was also part of a multi-layered counter-drone capability development programme run by NATO’s Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia. The Latvian Ministry of Defence has identified the development and acquisition of such capabilities as one of the country’s defence priorities.

Valdis Voveraitis, a project manager at NT Service, said the exercise brought together industry partners, their technologies, military partners and allies to improve existing capabilities, integrate them quickly into military environments and make the systems interoperable.