As Canada prepares to invest billions into national defence in the coming years, a senior NATO official is advising the alliance’s militaries to include a mix of cutting-edge technology like AI targeting and advanced drones into their plans.
Speaking to Global News from Riga, Latvia, on Friday, Adm. Pierre Vandier said that it’s not a question of replacing “everything” with drones — but rather incorporating drones and other unmanned systems to protect and enhance existing military capabilities.
“A force that is not protected against drones and (drone) swarms is a force at risk,” Vandier, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, said in an interview.
Vandier was speaking after observing NATO exercises in Latvia that included a mix of electronic warfare and drones along with “boots on the ground” to simulate a cross-border invasion.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is top of mind for the alliance forces stationed in Latvia, including the roughly 3,000 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel stationed in the country as part of Operation Reassurance.
That conflict has seen dramatic developments in the use of drones in warfare, including to limit the effectiveness of more traditional military assets — such as tanks and ground forces.
But Vandier said that one of the lessons learned through the NATO exercises is that drone warfare doesn’t make those traditional military systems obsolete — but rather that drones and electronic warfare tactics, including in a “good mix” of other military capabilities, can make a force more effective.
“What we demonstrated was we can extend lethality and extend survivability of existing capabilities … if we bring them with a good mix of new technology,” Vandier said.
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Vandier gave the example of an attack helicopter. With the use of both drones and anti-drone defences, the French admiral said that weapons system can execute missions “that were impossible before.”
“What robots are bringing is a risk management system, where you can open the tactical portfolio … and have better use of what you have,” Vandier said.
Since 2022, NATO has been running exercises with the Latvian Ministry of Defence to test electronic warfare, drone and AI technologies in “field-like conditions.” The exercises, known as the Digital Backbone eXperimentation (DIBaX), include the participation of defence companies and academics to test cutting-edge technology in a realistic setting.
According to a NATO official, this year’s exercise included testing of drone swarms, drone-to-drone combat and a cross-border incursion, along with electronic warfare tactics meant to jam or otherwise disable enemy drones.
These are themes that the CAF has been thinking about for years, including deploying anti-drone defences for personnel stationed in Latvia.
Earlier this year, the Department of National Defence launched the Defence Drone Initiative (DDI), an effort to both provide the CAF and the Canadian Coast Guard with new drone technology and to boost the domestic industry.
“Recent conflicts have underscored how rapidly drone technologies are transforming modern warfare and are central to modern military operations … Success increasingly depends on the ability to innovate, adapt and field new capabilities at speed,” the government said in July.
“Canada must be prepared to do the same.”
The push to develop Canada’s drone capabilities also comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised to invest billions of new money into national defence, with Canada finally meeting its NATO target of spending two per cent of GDP on the defence this year.
The Carney government has released few details, however, about how it intends to reach the target of spending five per cent of GDP on defence by 2035. A recent analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office suggested reaching that target would require “core” defence spending to increase from $95.7 billion in 2030 to $163.7 billion in 2035-36.
More details on how the Liberals intend to do that are expected in Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne’s 2026-27 budget, scheduled to be tabled next Thursday.
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