NATO is planning to create an automated defense zone to protect European borders against potential Russian attacks.
General Thomas Lowin, NATO’s deputy chief of staff for operations, revealed the zone would act as “a sort of hot zone” for breaching enemy forces, while speaking to the German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
The new multi-layered defense concept would see NATO using advanced technologies to slow or stop invading forces in the earliest phases of a conflict. The German newspaper reported that Poland and Romania are already exploring the possibility of installing this system.
NATO plans to create a buffer zone along its borders with Russia and Belarus, using surveillance networks and remotely operated or semi-automated systems to provide the first line of detection against an incursion.
According to Lowin, the alliance’s eastern surveillance will integrate data from land, air, space, and digital sources.
What would the system consist of?
The automated AI-powered system will have sensors to detect enemy sources and activate defenses such as drones, semi-autonomous combat vehicles, land-based robots, and automatic air defenses and anti-missile systems, Lowin said.
However, any action involving lethal weapons would “always be under human responsibility.”
The sensors will be located “on the ground, in space, in cyberspace, and in the air.” It would cover an area of several thousand kilometers (miles), detect enemy movements or the deployment of weapons, and inform all NATO countries in real time.
The general said the AI-guided system would bolster NATO’s current weapons systems and forward-deployed forces.
Intelligence collection would rely on a mix of fixed and mobile platforms, including radar, acoustic, and optical sensors, supported by data from satellites, drones, and reconnaissance aircraft.
Rising Russia fears
NATO’s European members are increasing their state of readiness amid concerns that Russia – whose economy has been placed on a wartime footing by its invasion of Ukraine – could attempt to extend its military reach into European Union territory.
Poland is preparing to sign a contract for what its defense minister, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, described as “the biggest anti-drone system in Europe,” in an interview with the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.
Kosiniak-Kamysz did not disclose the deal’s value or identify the consortium expected to sign the contract later this month, saying only that it would involve “different types of weaponry.” He added that the purchase was driven by an “urgent operational demand.”
Preparations in full swing
Back in November 2025, Poland and Romania were reported to be working on deploying a new AI-driven weapons system to combat Russian drones after repeated violations of NATO airspace highlighted security gaps and intensified regional tensions.
Poland is preparing to sign a contract for what its defense minister, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, described as “the biggest anti-drone system in Europe,” in an interview with the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.
Kosiniak-Kamysz did not disclose the deal’s value or identify the consortium expected to sign the contract later this month, saying only that it would involve “different types of weaponry.” He added that the purchase was driven by an “urgent operational demand.”
Preparations in full swing
Back in November 2025, Poland and Romania were reported to be working on deploying a new AI-driven weapons system to combat Russian drones after repeated violations of NATO airspace highlighted security gaps and intensified regional tensions.