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The Alliance wants to combine data from the ground, air, space, and cyberspace into a single picture of threats.
Imagine a border that is not just guarded by patrols and radars, but continuously "listens", "watches" and instantly warns of any suspicious activity. NATO is discussing just such an idea: to create an automated defense zone along the eastern borders of Europe, which should be triggered in the very first minutes of a possible conflict and buy time for the deployment of the main forces.
General Thomas Lovin, Deputy Chief of Staff for NATO Operations, spoke about the plans in an interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. According to him, the planned zone will be something like a "hot belt" to contain and slow down the advancing forces if someone tries to break through the border. The concept is based on a multi-level system, where sensors, surveillance networks and remotely controlled or partially autonomous complexes play a key role, which detect the threat and help organize a response before the situation escalates into full-scale hostilities.
The essence of the approach is to turn the line of contact into a "buffer" with the earliest possible detection. It is assumed that a surveillance infrastructure will be deployed along the borders with Russia and Belarus, and data will begin to flow from different media at once: from the ground, from the air, from space, and from digital sources. In other words, it will be a single picture of the situation, assembled from radars, satellite information, drones, reconnaissance aircraft and sensors of various types, including acoustic and optical.
According to Lovin's description, the system will be based on automation with AI elements, which will not only detect movements and possible deployment of weapons, but also suggest which means are better used for protection. We are talking about drones, semi-autonomous military equipment, ground-based robots, as well as automated air defense and missile defense systems. At the same time, the general separately emphasized a fundamental point: any actions related to the use of lethal weapons should remain under human responsibility.
The German edition writes that Poland and Romania are already exploring the possibility of installing similar solutions. An additional background to this topic is given by the internal request of the countries of the region to strengthen counteraction to drones: Polish Defense Minister Vladislav Kosinyak Kamysh said that the country was preparing to conclude a contract for, as he put it, Europe's largest anti-drone system. The details of the deal, its cost and the specific composition of the participants have not yet been disclosed, but the minister explains the urgency of the "urgent operational need."
The anxiety on NATO's eastern flank has been fueled in recent months by the fact that European members of the alliance are increasing their readiness amid fears of an expansion of Russian military activity beyond Ukraine. In November 2025, it was reported that Poland and Romania were working on deploying an AI-based system to combat Russian drones after repeated violations of NATO airspace that exposed vulnerabilities and increased tensions. According to the same reports, Denmark could also join the initiative as part of strengthening defense on the eastern borders. It is expected that a full-fledged system on the scale of NATO will be able to work by the end of 2027.
Imagine a border that is not just guarded by patrols and radars, but continuously "listens", "watches" and instantly warns of any suspicious activity. NATO is discussing just such an idea: to create an automated defense zone along the eastern borders of Europe, which should be triggered in the very first minutes of a possible conflict and buy time for the deployment of the main forces.
General Thomas Lovin, Deputy Chief of Staff for NATO Operations, spoke about the plans in an interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. According to him, the planned zone will be something like a "hot belt" to contain and slow down the advancing forces if someone tries to break through the border. The concept is based on a multi-level system, where sensors, surveillance networks and remotely controlled or partially autonomous complexes play a key role, which detect the threat and help organize a response before the situation escalates into full-scale hostilities.
The essence of the approach is to turn the line of contact into a "buffer" with the earliest possible detection. It is assumed that a surveillance infrastructure will be deployed along the borders with Russia and Belarus, and data will begin to flow from different media at once: from the ground, from the air, from space, and from digital sources. In other words, it will be a single picture of the situation, assembled from radars, satellite information, drones, reconnaissance aircraft and sensors of various types, including acoustic and optical.
According to Lovin's description, the system will be based on automation with AI elements, which will not only detect movements and possible deployment of weapons, but also suggest which means are better used for protection. We are talking about drones, semi-autonomous military equipment, ground-based robots, as well as automated air defense and missile defense systems. At the same time, the general separately emphasized a fundamental point: any actions related to the use of lethal weapons should remain under human responsibility.
The German edition writes that Poland and Romania are already exploring the possibility of installing similar solutions. An additional background to this topic is given by the internal request of the countries of the region to strengthen counteraction to drones: Polish Defense Minister Vladislav Kosinyak Kamysh said that the country was preparing to conclude a contract for, as he put it, Europe's largest anti-drone system. The details of the deal, its cost and the specific composition of the participants have not yet been disclosed, but the minister explains the urgency of the "urgent operational need."
The anxiety on NATO's eastern flank has been fueled in recent months by the fact that European members of the alliance are increasing their readiness amid fears of an expansion of Russian military activity beyond Ukraine. In November 2025, it was reported that Poland and Romania were working on deploying an AI-based system to combat Russian drones after repeated violations of NATO airspace that exposed vulnerabilities and increased tensions. According to the same reports, Denmark could also join the initiative as part of strengthening defense on the eastern borders. It is expected that a full-fledged system on the scale of NATO will be able to work by the end of 2027.
