February 11, 2026 at 6:56 AM
NATO innovation chief: Alliance must speed up, or risk Russian invasion
Ukraine shows that “the obsolescence is nearly immediate,” for even the best weapons.
Adm. Pierre Vandier address journalists in Brussels, Belgium, on January 22, 2026. Dursun Aydemir / Anadolu via Getty Images By Patrick Tucker Science & Technology Editor February 11, 2026 NATO Russia Technology Europe Deterring a Russian attack depends not just on NATO's military forces, but on proof that alliance members can bring new technology to the fight as quickly as Moscow, Adm.
Pierre Vandier, who leads NATO’s Allied Transformation Command, said Tuesday in Washington.Vandier, like other military leaders and operators, said Ukrainian forces have illustrated the value of not just buying new technology, but continuously reinventing it at the front lines. But, he said, Russia has learned the same lesson and is also continuously adapting across areas like space-based imagery, mission command, and, of course, drones. If Russia sees NATO as lagging, there’s a chance it could make a “miscalculation” similar to the one it made in 2022 when it launched its expanded war in Ukraine, Vandier said.