NATO receives counter-drone advice from Ukrainian JATEC experts

Inside the LCI-X drills: Ukraine's JATEC team helps NATO counter drones

According to Рубрика — Суспільство: During the LCI-X 3-26 Execution drills, held in Latvia as part of Exercise Baltic Trust, NATO turned to Ukrainian JATEC specialists for advice on defending against drone attacks. This iteration represented the third round of testing and integration for counter-UAS capabilities in support of the Alliance's eastern flank. More than 1,000 participants took part, including service members from 25 NATO countries and Ukraine.

While earlier phases involved dispersed anti-drone elements, this third phase focused on combining them at the tactical level and linking them into NATO's command-and-control (C2) framework. The Ukrainian experts helped shape the exercise concept from the outset, fine-tuning the flight parameters of the UAVs. During the active portion, JATEC staff kept track of and directed the mock adversary crews, ensuring they followed the planned flight paths and threat profiles.

Allied training, shared benefits

Systematically involving Ukrainian soldiers with frontline experience in such Alliance events is one of JATEC's stated priorities. The drill marked a meaningful advance in NATO's counter-drone capabilities and underscored the value of international security collaboration.

Source: Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, as reported by Rubricka.

Ukraine's growing engagement in NATO exercises highlights its increasingly prominent place in the international security architecture, especially against modern threats such as unmanned aerial vehicles. These joint efforts improve defense tactics and reinforce the Ukraine-NATO partnership, crucial for today's European security landscape. With drone warfare now a central element of the conflict in Ukraine, incorporating insights from Kyiv's battlefield experience gives NATO a practical edge in preparing for similar challenges.