---
title: "Ukrainian JATEC Experts Train NATO Military Personnel on Drone Attack Defense in Latvia Exercises"
description: "Ukrainian JATEC experts consulted military personnel from 25 NATO countries on countering drone attacks during the LCI-X 3-26 Execution exercises in Latvia, adjusting scenarios to match the realities of the Ukrainian front. More than a thousand people took part in the event."
date: 2026-08-27T06:50:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukrainian-jatec-experts-train-nato-troops-on-drone-defense
tags: [ukraine, nato, drones, jatec, latvia, military-exercises, counter-drone, baltic-trust]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Ukrainian JATEC Experts Train NATO Military Personnel on Drone Attack Defense in Latvia Exercises

![Ukrainian JATEC experts demonstrate drone handling during NATO exercises in Latvia](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/27/ukrainskie-eksperty-jatec-obuchayut-nato-otrazheniyu-atak-dronov/ukrainskie-eksperty-jatec-obuchayut-nato-otrazheniyu-atak-dronov-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Ukrainian JATEC experts advised NATO military personnel on counter-drone measures during the LCI-X 3-26 Execution exercises in Latvia
- More than 1,000 people from 25 NATO countries and Ukraine took part in the Exercise Baltic Trust exercises
- The third phase of LCI-X moved from discrete air defense elements to multi-element integration at the tactical level
- Ukrainian military personnel controlled the simulated adversary's actions and adjusted scenarios to match front-line realities

Ukrainian specialists from the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre (JATEC) provided consultations to military personnel from Alliance member states on countering unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks during the LCI-X 3-26 Execution exercises. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the press service of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense. The exercises marked the third phase of a large-scale program aimed at testing and integrating counter-drone solutions in support of NATO's eastern flank.

### Third Phase of LCI-X: From Discrete Elements to Multi-Element Integration

The LCI-X 3-26 Execution exercises were held in Latvia in August 2026 and were part of the broader Exercise Baltic Trust program. In total, more than a thousand people took part in the events, including military personnel from 25 NATO countries and Ukraine. The third phase of LCI-X experimentation marked a transition from working with discrete counter-drone elements to multi-element integration at the tactical level and within NATO's command and control systems. This means that the Alliance has moved from testing individual air defense assets to comprehensive testing of integrated combinations, in which radar stations, electronic warfare systems, air defense complexes, and cyber defense tools operate as a single system.

### The Role of Ukrainian Experts: Battlefield Realities in NATO Scenarios

Ukrainian JATEC specialists, who possess years of combat experience in countering drones, played several key roles in the exercises. They focused on aligning NATO's experiments with the realities of the current battlefield, adjusting scenarios to the actual conditions observed at the front. In particular, Ukrainian military personnel controlled the actions of the simulated adversary, ensuring precise adherence to drone flight plans and threat profiles. This approach allows the Alliance to test its systems not in abstract conditions, but in scenarios that closely mirror the real-world UAV employment tactics used in the course of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

### JATEC: Systematic Leveraging of Ukraine's Combat Experience

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. The center, operating on Ukrainian territory, has become an institutional mechanism through which the unique counter-drone experience accumulated over years of full-scale war is transferred to NATO's military structures. According to RBC-Ukraine, it was previously reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces serve as instructors for NATO forces, sharing their counter-drone experience, and that in October 2026 Ukraine will be visited for the first time in eight years by the NATO Military Committee — a decision made following the first conversation between Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Mykhailo Drapatyi and the committee's chair.

### Strategic Context: The Eastern Flank and Counter-Drone Defense

Hosting the exercises in Latvia — on NATO's easternmost flank — underscores the priority of building a multi-layered counter-UAV system for the Baltic states. The scale of the event — more than a thousand participants from 26 countries — indicates that counter-drone defense has become one of the central directions of the Alliance's military integration. The transition from tactical integration to command and control levels means that NATO is working out not only the "hardware" but also the organizational and staff procedures for decision-making under conditions of massive drone attacks.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Ukrainian experts teach NATO military personnel to counter drone attacks: operation details](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/ukrayinski-eksperti-navchayut-viyskovih-nato-1787813253.html) - Основной источник. Подтверждает проведение учений LCI-X 3-26 Execution в Латвии, участие 25 стран НАТО и Украины, более 1000 участников, роль JATEC и Exercise Baltic Trust.
- [How to fight for real: Ukrainians led the "simulated adversary" at NATO maneuvers](https://from-ua.org/news/702800-kak-voevat-po-nastoiashhemu-ukraincy-vozglavili-uslovnogo-protivnika-na-manevrax-nato.html) - Подтверждает роль украинских военных в контроле условного противника и корректировке сценариев под реалии фронта.
- [NATO tests new counter-drone system with Ukrainian experts' participation: what ...](https://www.obozrevatel.com/novosti-mir/nato-testiruet-novuyu-sistemu-protivodejstviya-dronam-s-uchastiem-ukrainskih-ekspertov-chto-izvestno.htm) - Подтверждает контекст тестирования систем противодействия дронам и участие украинских экспертов в учениях НАТО.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What is JATEC and what is its role in the exercises?
**A:** JATEC (the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre) is an institutional mechanism through which Ukrainian military personnel with combat experience are involved in joint activities with the Alliance. During the LCI-X 3-26 exercises, JATEC experts advised NATO military personnel on counter-drone measures and adjusted scenarios to match front-line realities.

### Q: Where and when were the LCI-X 3-26 Execution exercises held?
**A:** The exercises were held in Latvia in August 2026 and were part of the Exercise Baltic Trust program. More than a thousand people from 25 NATO countries and Ukraine took part.

### Q: How does the third phase of LCI-X differ from previous ones?
**A:** The third phase moved from working with discrete counter-drone elements to multi-element integration at the tactical level and within NATO's command and control systems, i.e., to comprehensive testing of air defense asset combinations as a single system.

### Q: What is the role of Ukrainian military personnel in controlling the simulated adversary?
**A:** Ukrainian experts controlled the actions of the simulated adversary, ensuring precise adherence to drone flight plans and threat profiles, and also adjusted the exercise scenarios to the actual conditions observed on the Ukrainian front.