Cheap, elusive drones keep probing European skies - exposing just how unprepared NATO is for hybrid attacks, and raising the unnerving question: would the U.S. really back Article 5 if tested?
You write, "NATO’s defenses are not mission-ready for hybrid threats. "
Ok, that sounds reasonable, as best I can tell.
Now let's complete the picture. Russia's defense's are not mission-ready for cruise missile and drone attacks on their essential infrastructure. Russia's army is not mission-ready for defeating a far smaller neighbor. Russia's political structure is not mission-ready for giving it's generals and soldiers any better reason for fighting other than fear of Putin and greed for money.
What really plagues the EU is not the lack of this or that particular technological system, but rather a defeatist mindset focused on defense instead of offense.
In every war the combatants will have various strengths and weaknesses. Each side will have it's advantages and disadvantages. So when the EU claims "we are not good at XYZ" such a claim can both be true, and largely useless in calculating the correct course of action.
The following is from ChatGPT, corrections welcomed:
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The combined military assets of EU countries that are ready to fight include approximately 1.5 million active personnel, 1,500 fighter aircraft, 2,000 main battle tanks, 3,500 artillery systems, 6,000 armored personnel carriers, and 1,000 missile systems, reflecting a significant commitment to enhancing defense capabilities in response to security threats.
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If those numbers are generally in the ballpark, then we can ask this.
Ukraine is much smaller in people and national wealth than the EU, and they have been holding the Russians at bay for over three years, and have inflicted massive losses on the Russians which are beginning to threaten Russia's supply of fighters.
If Ukraine can do that, why should we believe that the much larger and much wealthier EU is powerless to enter Ukraine and join the fight in some manner?
What if the real story here is not that the EU is not ready for hybrid warfare, but rather that Ukraine has excellent leadership, while the EU leadership is sorely lacking?
You write, "NATO’s defenses are not mission-ready for hybrid threats. "
Ok, that sounds reasonable, as best I can tell.
Now let's complete the picture. Russia's defense's are not mission-ready for cruise missile and drone attacks on their essential infrastructure. Russia's army is not mission-ready for defeating a far smaller neighbor. Russia's political structure is not mission-ready for giving it's generals and soldiers any better reason for fighting other than fear of Putin and greed for money.
What really plagues the EU is not the lack of this or that particular technological system, but rather a defeatist mindset focused on defense instead of offense.
In every war the combatants will have various strengths and weaknesses. Each side will have it's advantages and disadvantages. So when the EU claims "we are not good at XYZ" such a claim can both be true, and largely useless in calculating the correct course of action.
The following is from ChatGPT, corrections welcomed:
=========
The combined military assets of EU countries that are ready to fight include approximately 1.5 million active personnel, 1,500 fighter aircraft, 2,000 main battle tanks, 3,500 artillery systems, 6,000 armored personnel carriers, and 1,000 missile systems, reflecting a significant commitment to enhancing defense capabilities in response to security threats.
=========
If those numbers are generally in the ballpark, then we can ask this.
Ukraine is much smaller in people and national wealth than the EU, and they have been holding the Russians at bay for over three years, and have inflicted massive losses on the Russians which are beginning to threaten Russia's supply of fighters.
If Ukraine can do that, why should we believe that the much larger and much wealthier EU is powerless to enter Ukraine and join the fight in some manner?
What if the real story here is not that the EU is not ready for hybrid warfare, but rather that Ukraine has excellent leadership, while the EU leadership is sorely lacking?