NATO arms itself with artificial intelligence against Russia: a semi-automated defense project

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is planning to strengthen its defenses along Europe’s borders with Russia over the next two years by establishing an “automated defense zone” based on equipment operating with minimal human involvement.

General Thomas Löwen, Deputy Chief of Operations at NATO’s Allied Land Command in Izmir, Turkey, told the newspaper Welt am Sonntag that this defensive belt “will include a zone that the enemy must cross before advancing,” describing it as “a kind of hot zone.”

He explained that sensors will be responsible for detecting opposing forces and activating defense systems such as armed drones, semi-autonomous combat vehicles, unmanned ground robots, as well as automated air and missile defense systems. However, the final decision to use these weapons will “always remain a human responsibility.”

According to Löwen, the sensors covering an area stretching over thousands of kilometers will be deployed “on the ground, in space, in cyberspace, or in the air.”

He added that they will collect data on “enemy movements or the use of weapons, in order to inform all NATO member states in real time.”

Polish soldiers at the border

The plan also includes strengthening existing weapons stockpiles, maintaining deployed forces “at the current level,” and using cloud computing and artificial intelligence to manage the system.

Initial trials of certain system components have already begun as part of pilot projects in Poland and Romania.

According to Welt am Sonntag, the NATO defense system is expected, if possible, to become operational by the end of 2027.

In December 2025, the leaders of eight Northern and Eastern European countries — Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria — called in a joint statement for giving “immediate” priority to strengthening the defense of Europe’s eastern flank in the face of the Russian threat.