Rutte intrigues with new tech to counter Russian drones: ‘Learning from Ukrainians’
Photo: Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General (Getty Images)
NATO countries are developing new technologies to destroy Russian drones. Using expensive missiles for this on a regular basis is not sustainable, said NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in an interview with Bloomberg.
"It is not sustainable that you would take down thousand- or two-thousand-dollar costing drones with missiles that cost you maybe half a million or a million dollars. All of us are rapidly developing the technologies and learning from Ukrainians," Rutte said.
He acknowledged that NATO countries currently lack the necessary equipment "in the short term." According to the Secretary General, the main goal is to ensure that "next to the more traditional way to deal with this, we have this interceptor technology at our hands."
Rutte also noted that signals about a strong NATO response to potential violations of airspace by Russian aircraft and drones are constantly being communicated informally.
"When it comes to fighter jets, that is not new. It’s bad, it should stop, but our pilots know what to do, and if necessary, they can do the ultimate," he said.
Russian drones in Poland
A few weeks ago, unarmed Russian drones entered Polish airspace. NATO fighter jets were used to destroy the drones.
According to Bild, F-35 fighters fired missiles at the Russian drones, each costing around 400,000 euros.
At the same time, the cost of a Russian Gerber drone is only a few thousand dollars.
