NATO’s Rutte Vows Cheaper Counter-Drone Defenses for Eastern Flank
Rutte says NATO will stop using high-end jets against low-cost drones as Russia’s barrage on Ukraine again scrambles aircraft in Poland and Romania.
BRUSSELS — Sep 30, 2026 — NATO will build cheaper counter-drone defenses so the alliance is “not using high-end jets against low-cost threats,” Secretary General Mark Rutte said Tuesday, citing repeated drone incidents along the eastern flank. He spoke at NATO headquarters alongside Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius, as Russia’s latest missile and drone barrage on Ukraine again drew NATO aircraft into the air over Poland and Romania.
Rutte’s message
Rutte said NATO is strengthening its integrated air and missile defense through a “multi-layered, 360-degree approach” and adapting its posture through initiatives such as Drone Edge, according to the NATO transcript. He pointed to an incident two weeks ago in which Italian jets deployed by NATO from Šiauliai Air Base shot down a drone that violated Lithuanian airspace, calling it “collective defence in action.”
Asked whether “hybrid” is still the right word, Rutte said it sounds “cuddly” and that the activity is better described as grey-zone tactics, including drones, sabotage and cyberattacks. NATO has “all the response options we need,” he said, but they will not always be public or symmetrical. He did not deny that such operations have an effect: “I’m not saying that these malign grey zone activities are not having an impact,” he said. Rutte urged allies to attribute incidents to Russia when they are sure or almost sure, praising Estonia for doing so on Tuesday, and to share information with NATO. Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in sabotage, Business Insider reported.
From air policing to layered defense
A NATO official told Business Insider earlier this month that the alliance is shifting from traditional air policing toward a framework that combines quick-reaction fighters, ground-based air defenses, counter-drone teams including mobile firing units and helicopters, and new sensors contributed by allies. The official said the change began about a year ago after nearly two dozen Russian drones entered Polish airspace, and that the Eastern Sentry operation laid its foundation.
Rutte’s stated aim is to stop using expensive fighters against inexpensive drones. On Wednesday, Poland’s operational command said military aviation was active in response to Russian strikes in western Ukraine using jet-powered drones, while Romania’s defense ministry said two Spanish F-18s were scrambled after a target maneuvered near Izmail, with no incursion into Romanian airspace, ABC News reported. Moldova, which is not a NATO member, said a drone exploded and damaged a communications antenna in its Anenii Noi district.
Money and commitments
Rutte said Lithuania is expected to reach 5.38% of GDP in core defense spending this year and has committed at least 0.25% of GDP annually to Ukraine, focused on air defense and ammunition. Sinkevičius said Lithuania remains on track to host a permanently deployed German brigade by the end of 2027. Rutte also said contributions to the PURL mechanism, through which allies pay for U.S. weapons for Ukraine, have passed $10 billion.
Separately, the Baltic defense ministers asked the European Commission for €500 million for drone defense, citing what they call a growing Russian threat, according to Nasha Niva, which was relaying Moscow Times reporting. The source said the Baltic ministers expect a reply from the Commission within a few weeks.
Rutte also said Russia is losing more than 40,000 dead or seriously wounded a month in Ukraine, a figure he gave without sourcing and that could not be independently checked here. His message to Moscow was that NATO will “do even more for Ukraine, and not less.” Rutte did not give a timeline for the new counter-drone capabilities.
Sources
- NATO: Joint press conference by Rutte and the Prime Minister of Lithuania
- Anadolu: NATO to strengthen lower-cost counter-drone defenses, Rutte says
- Business Insider: NATO shifts from air policing to a 360-degree defense
- ABC News: Russian strikes kill 3 in Kyiv, prompt NATO to scramble aircraft
