How NATO should respond to defend itself
In the late hours of September 9th, nearly two dozen Russian military drones passed through Ukraine and illegally crossed into Polish airspace. Just ten days later, on September 19th, three advanced Russian MIG-31 fighter jets violated Estonian airspace. These actions mark the Russian Federation’s largest incursion of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) airspace since its inception in 1949. Accordingly, the United States of America and its allies under NATO must respond forcefully. Russia now poses a significant air threat to NATO countries, so NATO must reinforce its position and provide effective air defense for NATO countries.
Russia has had a history of testing the waters with NATO as a path towards increased aggression with relative impunity. In 2014, Russia illegally seized Crimea. Western nations responded by merely sanctioning Russia with little military action. In 2022, Russia unleashed its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As a result, a quarter of Ukraine’s population has been displaced. Ten million souls have been forced to relocate, and tens of millions more have had their lives severely disrupted. To prevent a similar invasion from occurring again, NATO must respond strongly to any Russian provocations. In the past, it has been made clear that sanctions and strong words alone fail to deter Russia. Therefore, NATO must respond militarily. NATO must deploy a significantly increased number of air defense batteries, fighter aircraft, and personnel to areas near Russia, like the Baltic and Poland. NATO must also pledge to shoot down all Russian aircraft that violate its airspace, including manned aircraft. While there would be some human risk, doing so would send a strong and clear message to Russian leadership: NATO is not to be messed with. NATO must prove that it is a strong organization and will respond forcefully to stop all Russian aggression.
It took seven hours for NATO to shoot down all 21 drones in Poland. In seven hours, armed drones could have done devastating damage to Polish cities and military infrastructure if Russia had intended such an attack. This encroachment has shed light on critical weaknesses in NATO air defence capabilities. In response, NATO must bolster those capabilities and improve regional readiness to ensure that no member nation is left vulnerable to Russian belligerence. To do this, NATO must deploy additional air defense batteries. This may be a viable solution as European nations increase military investment, and various defense contractors from both America and Europe have significantly increased interceptor production. However, this may not be enough to subdue more dangerous targets, like the MIG-31 fighter jets that violated Estonian airspace. Therefore, NATO and especially the United States, due to their vast resources and expertise, must also deploy its extensive arsenal of aircraft. These aircraft, the largest and most powerful in the world, can defend NATO airspace effectively. Still, this may not be enough, as time is required to start intercepting targets once they enter NATO airspace. Thus, NATO must shoot down all Russian military aircraft in Ukraine that enter a certain range from NATO borders so that it can protect itself most effectively.
Granted, such actions may be seen as extreme and provocative. However, they are vital for NATO’s defense, and NATO must take all measures necessary to defend itself. Because of the aggressive threat Russia poses to NATO, the latter must respond strongly by providing a powerful air defense force to protect itself effectively.
