Toespraak Commandant der Strijdkrachten Eichelsheim tijdens NATO Fuse Riga

Alleen het gesproken woord geldt 

Excellencies, 

Distinguished colleagues, 

Ladies and gentlemen, 

First, a thank you to Latvia, our host. I would also like to thank ACT and Admiral Vandier for bringing us together.  

And a special thank you to our brave Ukrainian friends. Every day, you show us how to bring innovation to the battlefield. 

Last June we presented our plans for the coming years. Drones and artificial intelligence have catalysed a fundamental shift in the Dutch armed forces. A shift to faster, smarter and more agile armed forces.  

One of our ambitions is to have more than half of our operational effects come from uncrewed systems within five years. 

After that presentation last June, a marine came up to me. He said: “I am trained to fight. Will drones and robots replace me?” I answered: “No. You will keep fighting. It is your role in the fight that changes.” 

That is exactly what brings us here. Drones help shape today’s fight. This event shows us how we can defend ourselves against swarms of cheap drones. The wars in Ukraine and Iran have taught us two lessons about counter-drone defence. 

First: the cost. Drones are like mosquitoes. Swat one today, and a hundred more will arrive tomorrow. Shooting down a cheap drone with a missile that is much more expensive is a fight you will lose on the balance sheet. 

Second: Defending against drones is a multi-layered process. We must connect sensors – those being part of NATO’s Air Picture - command and control, and effectors. This summer, ACT tested exactly that in Sēlija, here in Latvia.  

Drone and counter-drone technology develops at a rapid pace. Our task: to get it into our barracks and to the front just as quickly. To move in step with industry at battlefield speed. The question is how. Our answer: a stronger Europe within NATO. 

Everyone here knows how serious the threat is. Latvia has lived through Russian aggression and oppression. Today, we see that aggression again, in the ruthless war against Ukraine. And in Russian attacks across Europe. Moscow wants to frighten us, divide us and pressure us into ending our support for Ukraine. 

It is up to us to answer that aggression. And to be prepared for further escalation. To show Moscow that we stand as one, with NATO, Europe and Ukraine. SACEUR General Grynkewich put it plainly, earlier this month in Warsaw, when he said: “If someone is foolish enough to attack us, we will fight.” 

NATO forces are vigilant and ready to do just that. Because the good news is: together, we are strong. Look around you: people from all over Europe, from across the Atlantic, and beyond. All bound by the same values: democracy, freedom and respect for international law.  

And the numbers are on our side. Europe has four times as many people as Russia. And Russia’s economy is about the size of that of a single EU member state: Italy.  

We have the people, the money, and the will. Now let us build a strong European pillar within NATO.  

And use the instruments that are developed on both sides, combine them where we can or make them at least compatible. And prevent working in stovepipes. 

Such a defence must innovate at pace, and maintain that momentum.  

In Ukraine, the front line creates an inherent sense of urgency. Here, we must create that urgency ourselves. Because the innovations that reach our troops today will decide what the enemy dares to do tomorrow. 

While smart solutions are everywhere, we still hesitate. Our tests succeed, but our contracts lag behind. Innovation gets tangled up in the barbed wire of procurement, financing and our differing national rules.  

We have seen where this leads. Europe operates fourteen different types of tanks, fifteen different fighter jets and a variety of command systems. That fragmentation costs us dearly. According to German researchers, Europe achieves 30 to 40 percent less capability per euro than if it spent that money as one.  

4 years ago, I said to my fellow CHOD’s: “let’s not make this mistake again with drones or counter drone measures. Let’s do it together from the start.” And here we are, we did not succeed. So now is the time to succeed. 

If we want to reduce that percentage, we must build ecosystems. Ecosystems that drive continuous, high-speed innovation. Where armed forces, industry and research institutions work together. Each in its own role.  

Let me give you an example from my own country. Last November we gave our industry a single task: to take out small enemy attack drones just after launch, over enemy territory, using a new, low-cost type of counter-drone. 

Three consortia built a prototype. How they did it was up to them. We tested them earlier this month. Try before you buy, as it were. And if these tests lead to contracts, we are ready to open them up to our partners. 

Although these national initiatives are very useful, we can do it better if these initiatives are part of the instruments that are discussed here today. And if we do this together.  

Working with industry in this way requires clarity, certainty and trust. 

First, clarity. Governments and armed forces must be clear about which suppliers they will work with, and which they will not.  

Second, certainty. Suppliers and their investors need the certainty of medium- and long-term contracts. 

And above all, trust. The trust needed to take a leap. To look beyond national interests. To buy together and use each other’s test ranges. In Sēlija, more than 700 people from 26 Allied and partner nations tested side by side with 52 companies. Many of you were there. 

The Beacon Projects of Admiral Vandier and his team offer nations tested solutions, ready to be adopted within twelve months. For smaller nations especially, this saves a great deal of time.  

NATO fights the fight. Europe helps build the means. Our military capacity gains momentum when Europe joins forces. That’s why the Netherlands co-leads the EU’s Priority Capability Area on Drone and counter-drone systems. Together with Latvia, Denmark, Croatia and Spain. Today I can announce the founding of the first two drone technology hubs in Latvia and The Netherlands next year.  

One of the objectives is to build a European Network of Drone Technology Hubs.  

The idea is simple. Take the speed of innovation we see in Ukraine and implement it across Europe, to counter every kind of threats. And of course, this network works in close cooperation with NATO. 

The same sites will serve as NATO Innovation Ranges.  

The goal: to bring technology, users, testing and standards under one roof. So we test together. We learn together. And we move faster from idea to the front line. 

Testing is step one. Every successful test deserves a contract. However, there is a common fear: that what you buy today, will be outdated tomorrow. The solution is a new business model: drones as a service. Industry delivers the drone, the updates and the upgrades. Customers buy in modest quantities and pay for continuous innovation.  

It works like Spotify: you subscribe, and the new music keeps coming. What you buy today, remains current tomorrow. 

Together with the nations in the Drones and Counter-Drones Project, we have pooled our requirements. Procurement is the next step. Two questions will decide every contract. Can you deliver on time? And can you deliver as a service? That is how we build a stronger Europe within a stronger NATO. 

The Ukrainian industry should be involved in here as well. This combination can easily be fitted in the marketplace initiative as presented this morning.  

I will conclude with a request. 

To those of you with a mandate from a Chief of Defence: use it. So exploit the existing initiatives to make sure we get drones and counter drone systems on the eastern flank within a year. Only the systems that can be implemented in time make the list. Let us commit to this framework together.  

ACT brought us together. This afternoon, we get to work. The 170 bilateral meetings are the place to start. 

Let me return to the marine. He continues the fight, right alongside the drone pilot, the technician and the analyst.  

All of us in this room decide what they fight with, whether we buy, build or invest. Every contract that is signed here places equipment directly into the hands of our brothers and sisters in arms.  

They are ready. Let us deliver on time. 

Thank you.