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NATO Military Committee chair says alliance is ready to face possible threats
NATO Military Committee Chair Cavo Dragone said after a meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, that the alliance was prepared for possible threats. Dragone said NATO had a 4,000-page plan for its eastern flank and was developing its capabilities in air defense, drones, cybersecurity and space.
NATO Military Committee Chair Cavo Dragone held a press conference after the NATO Military Committee meeting in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. He said the meeting, which brought together the chiefs of defense of allied countries, reflected NATO's 360-degree security approach covering all flanks and domains.
Dragone said Russia's conduct in recent weeks and months had tested NATO's resolve, adding that airspace violations, drone incidents and hybrid activities could not be ignored. He said Russia was investing more in cognitive warfare in an effort to undermine the confidence of allies and weaken their unity.
The threat is real, but these efforts are not dividing us. On the contrary, they are improving our tools and making us more united and more determined.
Dragone said NATO forces had responded rapidly and effectively to recent incidents, adding that this showed the alliance was ready to defend every inch of allied territory. He said deterrence and defense capabilities needed to be credible, strong and adequately resourced, adding that this process would be pursued alongside support for Ukraine.
Dragone said the allies continued to provide Ukraine with equipment, training and assistance, adding that important lessons had been learned from Ukraine's defense. The meeting reviewed the implementation of decisions taken at the NATO summit and stressed that commitments needed to be translated into military realities.
NATO's defense capabilities
Dragone said investments needed to produce combat-ready forces, deployable capabilities and executable plans. He described this approach as a goal of a stronger and fairer NATO and a stronger Europe.
The meeting addressed capabilities in air and missile defense, drones, cybersecurity and space. Dragone said operational readiness needed to be accelerated so that forces could move rapidly and on a large scale, remain on mission for extended periods and fight.
Dragone also stressed the need to protect critical infrastructure, saying that infrastructure ranging from undersea cables to energy and digital networks was important for defense and deterrence. He added that societal resilience was another fundamental part of these elements.
Hybrid attacks and collective defense
Responding to a question about the possibility of Russia violating Poland's border and NATO's response to hybrid attacks, Dragone said the alliance had taken the necessary measures. He said NATO was a defensive alliance and that managing tensions was part of its fundamental approach.
Dragone said a possible Russian attack had not been discussed at the meeting, but that defenses on NATO's eastern flank had been strengthened. He said the alliance needed to demonstrate that it would defend every inch of its territory.
Dragone said most hybrid activities remained below the threshold that would require the implementation of Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, which governs collective defense. He therefore noted that every hybrid attack did not automatically trigger Article 5.
Dragone said hybrid threats covered a broad range of activities, from cyberattacks to cognitive warfare. He said responsibility should first be established in such incidents and the public informed afterward, adding that hybrid activities sought to create public distrust of political leaders and NATO.
Dragone urged citizens not to immediately accept information they encountered and to verify its sources. He said thousands of cyberattacks were carried out every day and that the number was rising. He alleged that Russia allocated approximately $2 billion a year to cognitive warfare activities and had been operating in this field for a long time.
Dragone said his previous comments to La Repubblica and the Financial Times had not been accurately conveyed. He said his remarks had been shared approximately 30,000 times, a significant portion of them through Russian or Russian-controlled outlets, and added that Western media organizations had also repeated the narrative without questioning it.
4,000-page plan for the eastern flank
Responding to a question about whether NATO had sufficient strength on its eastern flank, Dragone said a force plan for the region was ready to be implemented in the event of a possible escalation or adverse development. He said response mechanisms had been defined in advance to speed up decision-making.
Dragone said there was a 4,000-page plan for the eastern flank, adding that the alliance's command structure, forces, systems and weapons were ready. He said NATO was adapting to changing threats and that the party launching a possible attack would lose far more than it could gain.
This is deterrence. If the current situation is maintained, we are at peace. It may be an armed peace, but it is still peace.
Call for higher defense industry production
Responding to a question about NATO's ammunition stocks, Dragone said the war in Ukraine had demonstrated the importance of the amount of ammunition consumed each day. He said defense companies were being encouraged to move away from the peacetime production model that had prevailed until a few years ago and shift to higher, sustainable production over longer periods.
Dragone said major changes were taking place in the sector, but that there was still a long way to go before production could be increased to the required levels and speed. He noted that the financial resources needed for defense investments were available. He said defense companies were responding to demand but needed to do more.
Drone investment among NATO's priorities
Dragone said NATO's drone initiative, called "Dron Edge," represented a $50 billion investment. He said he did not know the precise timetable for bringing the new capabilities into service, but stressed that the initiative was a priority for NATO.
Dragone said other efforts were also under way to develop air defense, drone and counter-drone capabilities on the eastern flank, drawing attention to the importance of these areas in the alliance's defense readiness.
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