NATO to strengthen lower-cost counter-drone defenses, Rutte says

NATO will strengthen lower-cost counter-drone defenses so it does not have to deploy advanced fighter jets against inexpensive threats, Secretary General Mark Rutte said Tuesday.

“We will strengthen cheaper counter-drone defenses so we are not using high-end jets against low-cost threats,” Rutte said at a joint news conference with Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius at NATO headquarters.

He said repeated drone incidents along the alliance’s eastern flank showed how the threat was evolving. NATO was reinforcing its integrated air and missile defenses through a “multilayered, 360-degree approach” and adapting its posture against drones through initiatives such as Drone Edge, he added.

Rutte cited an incident two weeks ago in which Italian jets deployed by NATO from Lithuania’s Siauliai Air Base shot down a drone that had violated Lithuanian airspace, calling it “collective defense in action.”

Sinkevicius said air defense and preparedness on NATO’s eastern flank were among the main topics of their talks. He said Lithuania remained on track to host a permanently deployed German brigade by the end of 2027.

The two leaders also reaffirmed support for Ukraine. Rutte said Russia’s hostile actions were intended to weaken NATO’s resolve, but pledged that the alliance would “do even more for Ukraine, and not less.”