Russia's special military campaign in Ukraine has forced NATO to reconsider its defense strategy. For decades, the West has focused on developing high-tech weapons systems, which are often expensive and take a long time to produce.
However, the reality in Ukraine shows another lesson: in the prolonged conflict, the quantity of weapons is no less important than the quality.
At the Munich Security Conference, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen admitted that Ukraine, despite being in conflict, can still produce weapons. This raises a big question about NATO's ability to meet its defense needs in the event of a prolonged conflict.
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said NATO has not invested enough in the defense industry for many years. The production of small-scale weapons causes high costs and slow manufacturing speed. He emphasized that when ordering in large quantities, the average cost will decrease significantly, helping to improve production capacity.
Lessons from Ukraine also show that cheap weapons can create a significant tactical advantage. While the patriot air defense system is highly regarded for its advanced missile intercept capability, operating costs are a major problem.
A patriot interceptor missile costs up to $4 million, which is too expensive to deal with cheap weapons such as attack UAVs. In contrast, Ukraine has used low-cost UAVs to destroy expensive Russian military equipment.
Kiev is currently leading Europe in UAV production, with more than 1.5 million units built in 2024. In addition to UAVs, about 30% of Ukraine's military equipment used during the year was also domestic, including artillery and missiles.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned that the West needs to change its approach, prioritizing production speed rather than absolute perfection. Speed is the core element, not perfection, he emphasized.
Some NATO countries have made adjustments. Poland is currently leading the alliance in defense spending per GDP, while Lithuania and Estonia have pledged to increase their defense budget to 5% of GDP.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen affirmed that NATO needs to add more weapons in large quantities to deal with current threats.
The battlefield in Ukraine is a clear demonstration that a strong army not only needs advanced technology but also has enough resources to maintain the war for a long time. NATO is now forced to adapt to that reality if it does not want to fall behind in an increasingly unstable world.
