Europe falls behind in drone warfare technology, vulnerable to Russian missile attacks — Latvian President

Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs issued the warning in an interview with The Guardian, as reported by Ukrinform.

The Latvian president said that drone warfare in Ukraine is developing at "lightning speed," while current efforts and preparations for aerial warfare could become outdated as early as the middle of next year.

"What we see is that air defence, drone defence, anti-ballistic defence has serious problems. And let's be frank. Ukraine has it. The whole of Europe and Nato has it," Rinkēvičs said.

He added that a sudden Russian air strike involving several launched missiles would, in his view, become a serious challenge that would be difficult to deal with for many countries today.

Ukraine and its European allies are currently facing delays in the delivery of critical missiles for Patriot systems and other air-defense capabilities.

The United States has considered transferring production of Patriot systems to Ukraine and European countries, but no agreement has yet been concluded.

Rinkēvičs said that the matter depended on the US government and the company itself, adding that negotiations were still ongoing and that there were certain technical difficulties related to licensing.

According to Rinkēvičs, acts of sabotage, cyberattacks, and recent incidents involving drones and missiles indicated that Russia was testing Europe's resolve to continue supporting Ukraine. He said that he did not consider a conventional military invasion likely, but stressed that Europe needed to remain very vigilant about other possible scenarios.

He also suggested that, in the coming months following the local elections, Russia could intensify its mobilization and then use the winter period to put pressure on the Ukrainian front and take every possible measure to discourage countries supporting Ukraine from providing further assistance.

As Ukrinform reported, on September 15, aircraft participating in NATO's air-policing mission shot down a Russian drone over Lithuania after it entered from the direction of Belarus. It was later discovered that the drone was a Russian Gerbera UAV that had deviated from its course.

Photo: Ilmārs Znotiņš/Office of the President