Drones instead of soldiers: how the alliance plans to defend the border with Russia

NATO in the next two years it intends to create on the border with Russia And Belarus a fundamentally new defense system based on automated technologies.

We are talking about the deployment of robots, numerous sensors, drones, as well as the large-scale transfer of equipment and weapons to the border states of the alliance.

Deputy Chief of Staff of the NATO Ground Forces Command, General, spoke about the plans. Thomas Lovin in a newspaper interview Welt am Sonntag. According to him, the alliance countries bordering Russia will receive significantly larger arms stocks in the coming years than before.

“We will see noticeably larger stockpiles than before in NATO states on the border with Russia,” – the general noted, emphasizing that the key emphasis will be placed not on the number of personnel, but on technical superiority.

The concept is based on the creation complex, multi-level defense systemwhich will stretch along the eastern borders of the alliance. The so-called “automated zone” should become the first line of containment: it is here that the enemy will have to face robotic weapons and surveillance even before contact with the main forces.

According to the NATO command, this zone will be largely deserted. The main goal is to reduce risks for military personnel and gain time in case of escalation by shifting the initial stage of repelling the threat to machines and algorithms.

General Lovin’s statements were the first public confirmation of NATO’s new defense concept called Eastern Flank Deterrence Line (EDFL – “Eastern Flank Containment Line”). According to Welt am Sonntagcompletion of the formation of this system is planned by the end 2027.

In fact, we are talking about the transformation of NATO’s eastern flank: from a classic military presence to a high-tech barrier, where the key role is played not by soldiers, but by sensors, drones and autonomous platforms.

Editorial comment

The idea of ​​​​creating an automated NATO defense line on the eastern flank looks impressive – robots, drones, sensors, a “deserted zone.” However, in reality we are not talking about an impregnable shield or a technological miracle, but about a carefully calculated compromise between military logic and political reality.

This is not a system designed to stop war. Her task is much more prosaic and at the same time more important – buy time. Robots and autonomous assets must take the first strike, detect the invasion, slow the advance and give headquarters a few critical hours or days to make decisions.

In this sense, the system really works. Against limited scenarios – sabotage, “probing” the border, hybrid actions – automated defense is effective. It removes the human factor, reduces the risk of accidental escalation and makes any border crossing recorded and documented in advance.

But this is also the limit of its capabilities. Against serious military pressure, this line is not insurmountable. Drones are jammed, sensors are destroyed, communications are jammed, and complex systems are vulnerable to cyberattacks and disruptions. This is not a “wall of the future” or a replacement for the army, but only a thin technological layer in front of the main forces.

The key motive is not only military, but also political. European societies are extremely sensitive to losses in the first hours of a conflict. Mass casualties break political stability faster than the front. Therefore, NATO prefers to shift the first contact with the enemy to vehicles rather than to soldiers.

This is where the main effectiveness of this concept lies. EDFL is insurance against surprise, chaos and panic. It doesn’t win the war, but it helps prevent it from being lost in the first 72 hours, when the most critical decisions are made.

The bottom line is that as an absolute defense this system is mediocre, but as a tool of deterrence and escalation management it is quite effective. NATO does not believe in inaccessibility, but it does believe in time. A In modern warfare, time is the scarcest resource.

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