NATO is building a plan to establish a large-scale automation "hot zone" along the entire eastern flank of the bloc, using artificial intelligence (AI)-coordinated weapon systems to counter forces considered rivals.
According to General Thomas Lowin, Deputy Chief of the General Staff in charge of operations of NATO, the "Eastern Flank Deterrence Line" will stretch thousands of kilometers, from the Arctic to the Black Sea, along the borders of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. The information was shared by him in an interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.
This plan includes a dense network of sensors and combat systems, connected by AI.
Participating components include armed unmanned aerial vehicles, four-legged robots with sensors, semi-automatic combat vehicles, unmanned ground robot systems, and automatic air defense and missile defense complexes.
According to Mr. Lowin, this structure is designed to disrupt and prevent the enemy's offensive momentum.
NATO aims to put this deterrent line into operation before the end of 2027. The plan comes as many NATO countries in Europe continuously express concern about the risk of Russian attacks, thereby promoting increased defense spending and applying military measures along the border.
Some countries such as Finland and the Baltic countries have withdrawn from mine ban treaties to deploy mines along the borders of Russia and Belarus.
For its part, Russia has repeatedly rejected accusations that it intends to attack NATO or the European Union, calling those concerns exaggerated to justify the increased military budget. Russia also pointed out the large-scale military presence of NATO in the eastern flank, with tens of thousands of soldiers participating in regular exercises.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that NATO is gradually bringing military infrastructure closer to the Russian border, while Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the alliance of preparing for direct confrontation.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova affirmed that Russia reserves the right to respond to all hostile actions by appropriate measures, including military-technical measures if necessary.
