NATO has merged two previously separate air-defense missions into a single structure that the alliance's command says is capable of repelling drone, aircraft and ballistic-missile attacks from all directions at once. But the alliance's military leadership has received no additional forces or resources to carry out those plans, infohub.kz reports.
Lieutenant General Guillaume Thomas, deputy commander of NATO's Allied Air Command, said that, according to available information, the alliance quietly moved in 2026 from traditional airspace patrolling to full-fledged air defense. Previously, one mission handled aircraft and drones, while the other focused on protection against ballistic missiles.
“We now have a single mission capable of providing 360-degree defense,” the general said.
The restructuring was decided back in the autumn of 2025, after an incident involving drones in Polish airspace. The alliance merged its command structures and standardized weapons-use rules, aiming to speed up its response to various types of air threats.
However, the publication notes, the expanded tasks were not accompanied by an increase in personnel or additional military capabilities for NATO's air command. So far, the main result of the reform has been an improvement in the command system for forces already in place.
Thomas acknowledged the need for new weapons purchases, above all cheaper means of intercepting drones, whose destruction with expensive missiles and fighter jets places a serious financial burden on the alliance.
“We would like countries to buy far more low-cost effectors, so that we have a wide range of capabilities, from expensive to affordable,” he said.
According to the general, the alliance needs modern command systems, additional detection assets and broader use of ground-based air-defense units, including mobile fire teams and helicopters. NATO does not currently have these capabilities.
Thomas warned that in the event of a potential large-scale conflict, “NATO will have to repel not individual air targets, but massed waves of attacks.”
The alliance has thus acknowledged that the shift to a large-scale air-defense system is so far being delivered mainly through organizational changes, while the additional weaponry needed for it to function fully remains out of NATO's reach.