During NATO exercises in Latvia, Ukrainian specialists from the Joint Analysis, Training and Education Center (JATEC) advised Alliance representatives on countering drone attacks. This was reported by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, as cited by RBC-Ukraine. The event was part of a broader integration of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' combat experience into NATO's defense structures.
Third phase of LCI-X 3-26: focus on the eastern flank
The exercises took place in August 2026 in Latvia and were part of the Exercise Baltic Trust program. The third phase, designated LCI-X 3-26 Execution, was aimed at testing and integrating counter-drone solutions — a task that, by the organizers' design, is meant to strengthen NATO's eastern flank. More than a thousand specialists participated in the events, including military personnel from 25 Alliance countries and Ukraine.
Ukrainian experts: from combat experience to NATO standards
As emphasized in Kyiv, Ukrainian experts focused on aligning NATO's experiments with the realities of the current battlefield. One of the key priorities of JATEC's work is the systematic involvement of Ukrainian military personnel with combat experience in joint activities with the Alliance. According to the Ministry of Defense's assessment, this strengthens partners' defensive capabilities and accelerates the operational interoperability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with NATO standards and systems.
Role reversal: the AFU as instructors
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that the AFU are serving as instructors for NATO forces, sharing their unique experience in countering drones. This trend is confirmed by other exercises as well: during the Hedgehog 2025 maneuvers in Estonia, one of the scenarios ended with the conditional "destruction" of a combat group, with Ukrainian military personnel playing the role of the adversary and employing drone tactics. Thus, Ukrainian experience has ceased to be merely an object of study and has become an active element of the Alliance's training.
Broader context: first NATO Military Committee visit in eight years
The consultations in Latvia fit into a broader dynamic. Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that for the first time in eight years, Ukraine will be visited by the NATO Military Committee in October — this became known after the first conversation between the Commander-in-Chief of the AFU, Mykhailo Drapatyi, and the committee's chair. The combination of these steps points to a deepening of institutional ties between Kyiv and Brussels in the military sphere.
What this means for the eastern flank
For NATO's eastern flank, the integration of Ukrainian counter-drone experience means a practical narrowing of the gap between the Alliance's theoretical doctrines and the real conditions of modern warfare. For Ukraine, in turn, participation in JATEC and joint exercises cements its status not merely as a recipient of aid, but as an equal provider of competencies. In a situation where counter-drone operations have become one of the key elements of defense, such an exchange of experience strengthens the positions of both sides.
