Ukraine joins Nato drill for first time to test anti-drone systems

NATO concluded a major anti-drone exercise this week, with Ukraine taking part for the first time as the Western alliance seeks to learn urgently from the rapid development and widespread use of unmanned systems in the war there.

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The drills at a Dutch military base, involving more than 20 countries and some 50 companies, tested cutting-edge systems to detect and counter drones and assessed how they work together.

The 11-day exercise ended with a demonstration of jamming and hacking drones in a week when their critical role in the Ukraine war was demonstrated once again.

On Sept. 18, a large Ukrainian drone attack triggered an earthquake-size blast at a major Russian arsenal. The following day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was ramping up drone production tenfold to nearly 1.4 million units in 2024.

The proliferation of drones in the war - to destroy targets and survey the battlefield - has prompted NATO to increase its focus on the threat they could pose to the alliance.