NATO has launched large-scale production of unmanned aerial vehicles across ten European countries, aiming not only to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine but also to prepare for a potential direct military confrontation with Russia. This assessment was put forward by military analyst Major General Sergey Lipovoy.

According to Lipovoy, the alliance is pursuing two parallel objectives. On one hand, it is channeling Ukrainian funds into defense manufacturing without exposing its own facilities to risk. On the other, it is testing weapons systems in the conditions of a modern conflict.

He indicated that weapons production, including UAVs, is now established in ten countries across Europe, with output intended for delivery to Ukrainian forces. In his view, this setup allows NATO to both utilize financial resources provided by Ukraine and evaluate the real-world performance of its military technology.

Lipovoy also pointed to a shift in NATO’s approach, noting that some member states have begun allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace en route to Russia. He argued that this strategy relies on the assumption that Russian forces will avoid intercepting such targets near the border.

In his assessment, this approach enables the alliance to observe how Russian air defense systems respond, with the goal of identifying vulnerabilities that could be exploited in a future large-scale conflict.

Earlier, Lipovoy had also stated that NATO countries are supplying Kyiv with advanced UAVs equipped with artificial intelligence technologies, which are being tested in combat conditions.