September 26, 2025
NATO’s Counter-Drone Conundrum
Over the last two weeks, Russia has repeatedly violated NATO airspace. Seventeen Russian military drones entered Polish airspace on September 10th, followed by another drone in Romania, three Russian jets flew into Estonian airspace for 12 minutes on September 19th, and drones of unknown origin shut down airports in Copenhagen and Oslo on September 22nd. In response to Russia's initial incursion, NATO launched Operation Eastern Sentry to increase and coordinate NATO efforts to counter Russia's drone threat. A new CNAS report released on September 10th details the tactics, techniques and procedures necessary to counter drones and finds current American drone capabilities lacking. NATO's counter-drone capabilities are not sufficient at present and urgent action is needed to prepare NATO militaries to counter Russian drone-based threats.
Here to discuss the way forward with us is CNAS's own Dr. Stacy Pettyjohn, who's the co-author of the new CNAS report, and a Brussels Sprouts regular, Michael Kofman.
Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn is a senior fellow and director of the defense program at CNAS
Michael Kofman is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
More from CNAS
-
Iran Shows the Emerging Crisis of the U.S. Airborne Battle Management Fleet
Commentary
The ABM force structure crisis comes at an acute moment for US air operations....
By Philip Sheers
-
The United States, Iran, and the Risk to NATO
Podcast
On March 14, in the wake of a global energy shock triggered by the United States military campaign against Iran, President Donald Trump called on allies to help reopen the Str...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
Hellscape Taiwan: A Porcupine Defense in the Drone Age
Commentary
This article was originally published in War on the Rocks It is 2029. General Secretary Xi Jinping has given the order for the People’s Liberation Army to forcibly take Taiwan...
By Stacie Pettyjohn & Molly Campbell
-
Negotiations With Iran Are Likely 'DOA,' Says Wasser
Video
President Donald Trump is telling Iran it "better get serious" about negotiations, but Becca Wasser, defense lead for Bloomberg Economics and adjunct senior fellow at the Cent...
By Becca Wasser
