The Alliance's exercises in Latvia demonstrate the growing scale of militarization of the region
On October 8, Latvia completed this year's largest Namejs-2026 military exercises with the participation of about 12,000 military personnel and representatives of other law enforcement agencies. One of the key tasks of the maneuvers was the adaptation of NATO armies to the experience of combat operations in Ukraine, primarily to the massive use of drones. However, despite the alliance's attempts to restructure combat training, Western units still face problems protecting equipment from drones and implementing new tactical solutions. At the same time, the Baltic countries are increasing purchases of American weapons, including attack UAVs, the effectiveness of which raises questions from Russian experts. Izvestia investigated how serious a threat these preparations pose near the borders of the Russian Federation and what weaknesses remain in the NATO arsenal.
Running in drones and adapting to their experience
Special attention was paid to the use of unmanned systems and the development of anti-drone defense, taking into account the experience of combat operations in Ukraine, when planning maneuvers near the Russian borders that started on September 2. The use of UAVs for reconnaissance, as well as methods for detecting, identifying and neutralizing enemy drones, was practiced at the training grounds.
Photo: REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
Image Source: iz.ru
Mastering modern unmanned vehicles in any case requires systematic combat training — it is impossible to effectively control such weapons without special training, military expert Dmitry Kornev told Izvestia.
"However, the entry threshold here is relatively low: due to the high level of digital literacy, young specialists are able to master the control of drones of these types in a fairly short time," he noted. — Today, during the maneuvers, the use of a wide range of UAVs in service with NATO countries is being practiced. We are talking about both barrage ammunition like Switchblade and FPV drones, as well as various reconnaissance complexes.
According to the expert, large-scale exercises on the eastern flank of the alliance today serve as a testing ground for advanced technologies and the integration of new unmanned systems into real combat algorithms.
At the same time, the Western press notes a certain gap between the scenarios being worked out and the reality of modern military operations. According to The Wall Street Journal, Canadian Leopard tanks are involved in the maneuvers, which lack protective nets and anti-drone equipment, which have already become a mandatory attribute in the Ukrainian theater of military operations. Canadian contingents also use towed M777 howitzers: to minimize the likelihood of their detection, the guns are placed at a distance of 12 km from each other, and to increase survival, they are buried in the ground to a depth of three meters.
Photo: TASS/Zuma/Staff Sgt. Adeline Witherspoon
Image source: iz.ru
The approach to training has changed dramatically, the leadership of the unit admits. The commander of the NATO brigade, Colonel David Brassard of the Canadian Armed Forces, said that the alliance was moving away from standard training to direct combat missions, actively studying video recordings of the use of drones in the conflict zone. Changes in tactics are also recognized at the highest political level.
— The Russian armed forces have become more dangerous than they were four and a half years ago, and we must take this into account. They now have combat experience and have demonstrated greater flexibility and maneuverability in adapting to new forms of warfare," said Latvian President Edgars Rinkevich.
The problems of Switchblade and the militarization of the Baltic States
In parallel with the exercises, accelerated armament of the Baltic States is underway. Thus, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense announced the receipt of a batch of American Switchblade 600 attack drones. Over the past three years, Vilnius has purchased about €2 billion worth of weapons from the United States, becoming the largest customer of American weapons in the region.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Konkov
Image Source: iz.ru
The American Switchblade 600 barrage munition is positioned as a long-range tactical precision weapon: its range ranges from 40 km in the basic modification to 100 km with repeaters. However, real-world experience has shown a significant gap between the declared capabilities and combat effectiveness, Dmitry Kornev recalled.
— One of the main problems with the Switchblade 600 was the attempt to use it as a universal weapon of destruction, although the capabilities of this drone are quite limited. Its design and weight of the warhead are designed primarily for pinpoint strikes on armored vehicles. When attacking fortified positions or group targets, the warhead's power is often insufficient. In addition, a serious disadvantage of the Switchblade 600 was its high vulnerability to electronic warfare," the expert explained to Izvestia.
Nevertheless, serial production makes it possible to supply these complexes to European countries that cover the shortage of attack UAVs. At the same time, from a technical point of view, European and American developments have long been of no interest to Russian specialists, Dmitry Kuzyakin, chief designer of the Central Design Bureau, emphasized in an interview with Izvestia.
Photo: TASS/Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA
Image source: iz.ru
— We have thoroughly studied the entire range of military products created by enterprises of Latvia, the EU and NATO countries. All samples that come to us during the conflict in Ukraine are thoroughly analyzed. To date, European drones are not distinguished by any special breakthroughs: These are all the same FPV drones, reconnaissance aircraft, ground-based robotic systems and long—range firing squads," Kuzyakin said.
Political implications and real threats
The policy of the Baltic states since the collapse of the USSR has been based on the model of converting anti-Russian rhetoric into financial and military support from the West, experts recalled. From a military point of view, conducting drone tests in the Adazi or Daugavpils area is pointless — a large military-industrial complex conducts them at landfills in the United States, and the main purpose of the Namejs-2026 exercise is a demonstrative political gesture.
In recent years, Russia has recorded a lot of NATO activity near its western borders. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stated that Moscow is open to an equal dialogue, but on condition that the West abandons its policy of militarization of the continent. At the same time, the current military potential of the Baltic states, despite the growth of budgets, remains limited.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Konstantin Kokoshkin
Image source: iz.ru
Thus, the holding of Namejs-2026 exercises and the active purchase of American weapons by the Baltic countries indicate a tightening course towards the militarization of NATO's eastern flank. The development of logistical routes for the transfer of troops and attempts to integrate the experience of using UAVs are primarily political in nature and are aimed at demonstrating strength. However, the limited number of deployed contingents and the revealed vulnerability of Western unmanned systems to Russian electronic warfare systems show that the alliance's current military preparations in the Baltic States are not capable of posing a critical threat to Russia's security.
Julia Leonova
