NATO strengthens Eastern Sentry defences amid rising drone threats

NATO's top military official recently visited Ramstein Air Base to assess the Alliance's air and missile defence systems. Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, led the two-day visit on 25 and 26 March. The focus was on strengthening deterrence along NATO's eastern borders. The visit reviewed NATO's Integrated Air and Missile Defence framework, which ties together air policing, ballistic missile defence, and round-the-clock surveillance. Officials discussed the Eastern Sentry initiative, launched in September 2025 after Russian drone incursions. This programme has expanded airspace monitoring and multi-domain defences—covering land, sea, cyber, and air—from Poland and the Baltic states to Romania, Finland, and the Black Sea region.

The initiative grew through major exercises in early 2026. In March, large-scale training involved French Mirage 2000D jets, German Eurofighters, Spanish F/A-18s, and Romanian F-16s. Earlier, on 20 February, German, Italian, and Spanish aircraft practised counter-drone tactics against a Turkish Bayraktar TB3. NATO also reinforced Black Sea defences with joint counter-drone units and early-warning networks, as confirmed by Secretary General Mark Rutte on 19 March.

Admiral Cavo Dragone stressed that effective combat aircraft rely on seamless integration within a wider defence network. He also highlighted mutual trust and cohesion as vital for NATO's resilience. Lieutenant General Jason T. Hinds, Commander of Allied Air Command, added that the command would keep using national capabilities to counter current and emerging threats. The Eastern Sentry initiative aims to improve coordination against threats like one-way attack drones. Ongoing training and flexible tactics, such as Agile Combat Employment, remain key to keeping NATO forces ready. The framework ensures continuous protection of Alliance territory through integrated air and missile defence.