From drones to automated weapons – How prepared are NATO troops for defense? | DW Documentary
The weapons technologies of the future are presenting national militaries with new challenges. The conflict in Ukraine has shown that warfare is changing. Can the German armed forces keep up?
New weaponry is being developed: from drones to artificial intelligence and automatic missile defense systems. Germany’s military, the Bundeswehr, is rearming on a large scale while assessing its future priorities. For example, are expensive tanks still suitable for battle when they can be destroyed by cheap drones? And what future role will multi-million-euro fighter planes play?
Analysts say that Russia will be in a position to attack NATO territory in five to eight years’ time. That’s led high-ranking German military officials to call for the country to be sufficiently armed by 2029. But how realistic is that goal?
Another concern is the risk of collateral damage caused by the misjudgments of artificial intelligence. Previously, it was hoped that modern weapons like drones would require fewer soldiers on the frontlines. But experts now believe these more complicated weapons will require more maintenance and therefore more personnel. According to military experts, modern warfare will ironically demand more soldiers than before.
How are Germany, NATO and Russia positioned militarily? Who is spending vast sums on which technologies? And just how much weaponry is actually sensible or justifiable?
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Video “From drones to automated weapons – How prepared are NATO troops for defense? | DW Documentary” was uploaded on 06/24/2025 by DW Documentary Youtube channel.
NATO has not learned lessons from the Russian-Ukrainian war, they still think and rely on tanks and airplanes.
Propaganda, it didn’t help Ukraine.
USA want long war with Russia using Germary 😂😂😂
4:08 correction: javelin participation in Ukraine has been greatly exaggerated by western media. According to anti-tank squad commander Tetyana Chornovol (and former MP), most of the javelins were inoperable in February 2022 because their batteries were discharged (probably due to inadequate storage conditions) AND its range is only 2.5 km, when the homegrown Ukrainian Stugna's is 5 km. Another problem with javelin, is that it requires its operator to expose himself to acquire the target, a gift to enemy's sniper, while Stugna's operator follows the target behind cover by camera via a long cable.
Nato is another name of American empire
Defence does not begin with diplomacy but begins with military capability across the spectrum that is sufficient to deter hostile nations. Germany needs to develop their version of the 130kg W80 nuclear warhead to mount on Tomahawk missiles and German designed and made short and long range missiles. Russia threatens Germany and the rest of NATO frequently with nuclear destruction and deterrence necessitates an adequate counter response capability. Civil defence to the extent that it has been implemented in Switzerland and Finland for example must be provided for the citizens of all European nations that may be subject to Russian nuclear attack and substantial conventional arms attack.
The US nuclear umbrella is not a sufficient deterrent anymore even if the US should have competent leadership again. US political decision making will impose delays and will always have different priorities. France, the UK, Italy and Sweden need to do the same and stop pretending that moral virtue provides any sort of defence capacity. The national capacity of these key NATO member states matters more than the alliance of NATO itself as NATO's decision making capacity is likely to be too slow and be subject to too many externalities. Russia is well aware of the serious weaknesses of NATO and it is almost too late to adequately address these weaknesses.
"Its no longer politically justifiable"
Umm okay, so we'll just roll over and let the Russians etc. take whatever they want. 👍
Authoritarian regimes have the advantage of not caring about body count. Western militaries must over-invest because they need to protect their personnel. They end up with overpriced machines that are just big targets that can't defend against swarms of cheap armed toys. You still need some big items, but the answer is (1) focus more on ammunition than big weapon systems (2) distribute and conceal even far from the frontline (3) hire expendible mercenary armies and (4) do less wars.
What gel did the gentleman use … ? Looks military grad ..
DW Documentary, you’re doing a fantastic job; keep it going! Thank you🥰🥰🥰🥰
The more we "prepare" the closer we are to war.
At the end of the last century we broke barriers, we talked, we disarm, we got closer. Now we expand "defences", we build barriers, we arm, we are getting further apart.
I'm sure the arms industry is happy.
Everyone read "This Kind of War" by T. R. Fehrenbach. There are universal concepts of war. The Soviets lost over 60,000 T34s from 41 to 45. Mass losses of tanks is not a new concept in war.
can you stop showign me this i know its no war…. but if aliens attack i come to join you
Drones will multiply war crimes as long as there are no rules governing AI and the damage caused by AI. Who is to be held responsible? Who do you want to sue? The drone? The entire legal framework is lacking.
we live here in yugoslavija , yugoslavija is very moderen in year 2025
Make a pact please no wars in Europe anymore Please
The self driving vehicles are cool. 🤩
NATO is too busy defending foreign migrants from their own tax p[ayers.
Thought russia is weakened, even a weakened russia is a threat to nato🧐
Nobody who goes to war is ever prepared for the next war. If they were, they wouldn't be going to war.
US backstabed Nato, too much relying from usa for along time nato now is in danger! Now trump left them vulnerable is it too late for nato? We hope not.
"How prepared are NATO troops for defense?" talks about German army insted of Nordic, Baltic states and Poland that are on the eastern flank next to Russia and sometimes selectively mention US systems. Considering the topic it is very badly made and dissinformative.
How about politicians and industry stop coming up with bs excuses to go to war?
…..wait a min…..(raising my hand) ..hey….its the United States of America 🇺🇸 over here…question, "I just heard President/Col. /Commander of the Allies (aka NATO) European Theatre D.W. Eisenhower, Sir Winston Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Col. /President Charles DeGaull and Col. Patton turn over in their graves because I thought at the end of WW1 and WW2 we all agreed to never let Germany re-arm itself separately without NATO control, so why are we allowing Germany to arm itself again ? Are they actually re-arming themselves separately or are we ( NATO and 5 -i countries) just letting them build up their military under our control to help Defend Europe?? " we can't just be letting them do what they want again, because that turns out to be horrible decision of history repeating itself" anyone know the details on this???
Sounds to me like fighter aircraft are now going at each other at longer and longer distances. Reminds me of the battleships of lore… er… old. And how they kept doing the same thing (longer and longer distances) until the coming of airplanes. And now, of course, it's drones,