As Canada prepares to invest billions in national defense in the coming years, a senior NATO official is advising the alliance’s militaries to include a mix of cutting-edge technology, such as AI and advanced drones, in their plans. Speaking to Global News from Riga, Latvia, on Friday, Admiral Pierre Vandier said it is not about replacing “everything” with drones, but rather incorporating drones and other unmanned systems to protect and enhance existing military capabilities. “A force that is not protected against drones and swarms (of drones) is a force at risk,” Vandier, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, said in an interview. Vandier spoke after observing NATO exercises in Latvia that included a combination of electronic warfare and drones along with “boots on the ground” to simulate a cross-border invasion. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is a priority for alliance forces stationed in Latvia, including the approximately 3,000 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) troops stationed in the country as part of Operation Reassurance. That conflict has seen dramatic developments in the use of drones in warfare, including to limit the effectiveness of more traditional military assets, such as tanks and ground forces. But Vandier said one of the lessons learned through NATO exercises is that drone warfare does not make those traditional military systems obsolete, but rather that drones and electronic warfare tactics, even in a “good combination” of other military capabilities, can make a force more effective. survivability of existing capabilities… if we combine them with a good mix of new technology,” Vandier said. Get the latest national news Get the latest Canadian news in your inbox as it happens so you don’t miss any breaking news. Vandier gave the example of an attack helicopter. Using both drones and anti-drone defenses, the French admiral said the weapons system can execute missions “that were impossible before.” “What the robots bring is a risk management system, where you can open the tactical portfolio… and make better use of what you have,” Vandier said. 1:52 NATO aircraft shoots down suspected Russian drone over Lithuania Since 2022, NATO has been conducting exercises with the Latvian Ministry of Defense to test electronic warfare, drone and artificial intelligence technologies in “field-like conditions.” The exercises, known as Digital Backbone eXperimentation (DIBaX), include the participation of defense companies and academics to test cutting-edge technology in a realistic environment. According to a NATO official, this year’s exercise included drone swarm testing, drone combat and a cross-border raid, along with electronic warfare tactics aimed at jamming or otherwise disabling enemy drones More about the world More videos These are topics the CAF has been thinking about for years, including the deployment of anti-drone defenses for personnel stationed in Latvia. Defense Drone Initiative (DDI), an effort to provide the CAF and the Canadian Coast Guard with new drone technology and boost the domestic industry “Innovate, adapt and deploy new capabilities rapidly,” the government said in July. “Canada must be prepared to do the same.” 2:14 Drone attacks sink one ship, damage another near Bulgarian coast The push to develop Canada’s drone capabilities also comes as the Prime Minister. Mark Carney has pledged to pour billions of new money into national defence, finally meeting its NATO target of spending two per cent of GDP on defense this year. However, Carney’s government has released few details on how it intends to reach the goal of spending five per cent of GDP on defense by 2035. A recent analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office suggested that meeting that target would require “core” defense spending to rise from $95.7 billion. dollars in 2030 to $163.7 billion in 2035-36. More details on how the Liberals intend to do so are expected in Finance Minister François-Philippe’s 2026-27 budget, which will be presented next Thursday.