NATO Tests Drones & Counter-Drone Systems in Latvia | Janes
An RDC Systems Raven X4 interceptor was among the unmanned aircraft systems tested during a recent NATO exercise in Latvia, the alliance confirmed. The testing, which took place at the Sēlija Military Training Area from March 9-13, involved defense companies and military representatives from NATO member states and Ukraine, according to a NATO press release issued March 18.
The event focused on the evaluation, verification, and validation of both unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS), reflecting a growing emphasis on these technologies within the alliance. NATO’s Innovation Range in Latvia is designed to facilitate high-speed, high-altitude interceptor UAS flights and the testing of electronic warfare (EW) capabilities.
This Latvian range is one of five established under NATO’s Rapid Adoption Action Plan (RAAP), intended to accelerate the development and deployment of new technologies. The other ranges are located in Estonia, focused on cyber defense; a joint Finnish-Swedish range for future connectivity; Italy, specializing in the underwater environment; and the Netherlands, concentrating on shallow water operations.
The exercise comes after a large-scale NATO experiment on researching and testing new defense technologies took place in Adazi, Latvia, from October 27 to November 7, 2025. That experiment, known as Digital Backbone Experiment (DiBaX), included planned flights of various types of unmanned aerial vehicles and focused on the apply of artificial intelligence for target identification and situational awareness.
NATO plans to continue testing and development at the Latvian range, with the next event scheduled for May 27 during the International Drone Summit in Riga. The development of these capabilities is occurring as the European Union considers establishing a “drone wall” to protect against hostile UAVs, prompted by recent airspace violations in several countries. Discussions involving seven EU countries, Ukraine, and the European Commission have been held regarding the feasibility of such a system.
The alliance has been bolstering its forward presence in Eastern Europe since Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. In 2016, at the Warsaw summit, NATO agreed to deploy four multinational battalion battle groups to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, led by the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and the United States respectively. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, four additional battle groups were established in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, led by Italy, Hungary, France, and the Czech Republic. Starting in 2026, Sweden will lead a battle group deployed to Rovaniemi, Finland.