Kathleen Hicks: NATO Needs to Adopt Interoperable Drones, Higher Defense Spending

NATO needs to embrace interoperable unmanned aerial systems and other emerging technologies amid growing capabilities competition against China, according to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks.

At the NATO Summit Defense Industry Forum on Tuesday, Hicks, 2024 Wash100 winner and past Potomac Officers Club speaker, highlighted the “significant, sustained” investments made by the United States and other NATO members in improving their defense capabilities.

Hicks also emphasized the need for the alliance to duplicate the Department of Defense’s Replicator drone project to take advantage of the benefits offered by autonomous systems, DefenseScoop reported.

Jens Stoltenberg, outgoing NATO secretary general, said that NATO is committed to improving the alliance’s defense capabilities, with member nations signing a pledge to increase their defense allocations and signing long-term contracts.

The organization has been engaged in advancing new defense technologies through the Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic program. In 2023, the DOD sought statutory authority from Congress to fund DIANA research focused on artificial intelligence, space and quantum technologies.