Latvia’s air defense would not be able to protect the country from a large-scale Russian drone or missile attack, warned Artis Pabriks, head of the Northern Europe Policy Centre and military technology expert, during the TV24 program “Kārtības rullis”, as reported by Latvijas Avīze.
He emphasized that expensive systems like the IRIS-T and other medium-range air defense systems are insufficient – their production is limited, while Latvia requires a much broader and more adaptive approach.
Pabriks called on the Latvian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence not to delay necessary reforms and to develop diverse counter-drone technologies – both electronic and physical – including domestically produced drones.
“We can’t afford to wait for the NATO summit; in fact, we should have done this already,” he warned.
Read also: Sharp increase in GPS signal disruptions in Latvian airspace