By NAVI Research Institute
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| Focus Point: Security and Defense Policy – Democratic Resilience, Integrity, and Foreign Interference |
NATO launches first Executive Resilience Course | NATO
By NATO | 23 September 2026
Senior civilian and military leaders from across the Alliance will develop their skills to build a stronger preparedness to face today’s complex challenges.
Weekly summary:
NATO says its first Executive Resilience Course brings together senior civilian and military leaders to strengthen preparedness for crises and keep essential services running. Organised by NATO’s Defence Policy and Planning Division with the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael, the course covers emerging threats, critical infrastructure, civil-military cooperation, essential services and societal resilience. NATO also emphasizes whole-of-society planning, bringing government, military, industry, infrastructure, academia and civil-society professionals together to improve cooperation during a crisis. Read more
| Focus Point: Emerging Technologies & Data – Military Technology and Innovation |
Task Force X-Arctic Takes its Next Step at REPMUS 2026 | NATO Allied Command Transformation
By Allied Command Transformation | 24 September 2026
This is an essential requirement before polar-capable hardware can be employed effectively. The first Arctic trial was held off Iceland in June and July 2026.
Weekly summary:
Allied Command Transformation says Task Force X-Arctic tested its digital architecture at scale during REPMUS 2026 in Portugal. The system connects a data-sharing layer, digital command-and-control architecture and mission-engineering layer so commanders can coordinate sensors, platforms and effectors from a common picture. Nearly 300 capabilities were connected to the project’s digital backbone during the exercise. ACT says the work is intended to support persistent awareness in the North Atlantic, Arctic and High North while informing future NATO planning, acquisition and data standards. Read more
| Focus Point: Emerging Technologies & Data – Critical Digital Infrastructure |
NATO’s thumbs-up for AWS shows Europe still needs America | Defense One
By Patrick Tucker | 22 September 2026
The company has become the first cloud provider to win approval to handle sensitive data for all alliance members.
Weekly summary:
Defense One reports that Amazon Web Services became the first cloud provider approved to handle NATO RESTRICTED information across all Alliance members. The article says the accreditation followed a multi-year effort and testing with Spain’s National Cryptographic Centre, and notes NATO’s wider push to use more commercial technology in coordination and planning. It also highlights the tension between Europe’s pursuit of greater technological independence and continued reliance on U.S.-based cloud capabilities, while noting European data-control requirements. Read more
| Focus Point: Emerging Technologies & Data – Artificial Intelligence |
AI below the waterline | Brookings
By Bruce Jones and David G. Victor | 22 September 2026
AI-enabled undersea platforms and sensors are more likely to form a mosaic of loosely coupled local networks than a seamless, highly connected kill web.
Weekly summary:
Brookings argues that AI is unlikely to make the undersea domain fully transparent because long-distance sensing and communications remain far harder underwater than above the surface. Bruce Jones and David G. Victor instead expect AI-enabled platforms and sensors to operate as loosely connected local networks, with stronger effects in constrained waterways and chokepoints. They also identify potential AI gains in design, manufacturing, maintenance and selected missions, while stressing that undersea stealth and physical communications limits will continue to shape operational possibilities. Read more
| Focus Point: Regional Security – Indo-Pacific Security |
Han Kuang 42: Learning to fight after things go wrong | Brookings
By David F. Helvey | 21 September 2026
Taiwan’s defense reforms are moving beyond platforms and weapons toward the institutional requirements of resilience.
Weekly summary:
David F. Helvey writes that Taiwan’s Han Kuang 42 exercise was more useful as a test of resilience than as proof that Taiwan could defeat a Chinese amphibious invasion. He says the exercise focused on problems likely to determine whether Taiwan could survive the opening stages of a war, including operations after communications, ports, power networks or command centers are disrupted. The analysis describes a shift from showcasing platforms toward layered defense, resistance and the institutional requirements needed to keep fighting under pressure. Read more
| Focus Point: Regional Security – Transatlantic Security/NATO |
Poland scrambles jets after Russian helicopter breaches its airspace | POLITICO Europe
By POLITICO Europe | 23 September 2026
Poland scrambles jets after Russian helicopter breaches its airspace. Warsaw said the incident was another test of its defenses.
Weekly summary:
POLITICO Europe reports that a Russian Mi-8 helicopter briefly entered Polish airspace from Kaliningrad, prompting Warsaw to scramble fighter jets while ground-based forces and assets remained on standby. The article says the aircraft remained in Polish airspace for 42 seconds and frames the incursion as another test of Poland’s defenses. It also places the episode alongside Polish warnings about possible Russian drone or missile strikes and wider European accusations of sabotage, cyberattacks, espionage and drone operations targeting countries supporting Ukraine. Read more
| Focus Point: Security and Defense Policy – Defense Industry, Acquisition, and Readiness |
Germany wants PAC-3 missile production in Europe, Pistorius says | POLITICO Europe
By POLITICO Europe | 23 September 2026
There is a global shortage of the interceptor missiles, so Germany is hoping for its own production line.
Weekly summary:
POLITICO Europe reports that German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius wants production of PAC-3 and PAC-2 GEM-T Patriot interceptor missiles established in Europe as demand rises across NATO and Ukraine. Pistorius said Germany has offered to help meet demand by bringing more production to Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The article notes that any arrangement would require U.S. government and industry approval, including questions around American intellectual property, while Germany already produces PAC-2 GEM-T interceptors through the COMLOG joint venture. Read more
| Focus Point: Security and Defense Policy – Democratic Resilience, Integrity, and Foreign Interference |
US, Europe worry Russia is testing NATO with hybrid attacks and sabotage | USA TODAY via Yahoo News
By Francesca Chambers and Miles J. Herszenhorn | 26 September 2026
German authorities said the drone components were known to them from “Russian hybrid operations and its war against Ukraine.”
Weekly summary:
USA TODAY reports growing U.S. and European concern that Russia is using sabotage, drone incursions and other hybrid activity to test NATO responses while avoiding direct conflict. The article cites European officials who publicly attributed a dangerous drone incident in Germany to Russia and describes broader concern about subsea cables, airspace violations and sabotage. It also reports warnings that hybrid attacks could create miscalculation or escalation, while officials debate how to combine public attribution, sanctions and deterrence without triggering open war. Read more
| Focus Point: Regional Security – Transatlantic Security/European Security |
Swiss voters reject tighter neutrality rules in referendum | Al Jazeera
By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and Reuters | 27 September 2026
About 70 percent voted against the initiative in a referendum on Sunday, final results from the Federal Statistical Office showed.
Weekly summary:
Al Jazeera reports that Swiss voters rejected a proposal to place stricter constitutional limits on the country’s neutrality, with final federal results showing about 70 percent voting against it. The initiative would have defined neutrality as “perpetual and armed,” restricted cooperation with military alliances and limited sanctions against states at war. The result preserves greater government flexibility to cooperate with NATO and join sanctions while remaining outside military alliances, amid debate sharpened by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Read more
| Focus Point: Regional Security – Transatlantic Security/NATO |
Polska i Litwa szykują plan ewakuacji przez przesmyk suwalski. Trwają wspólne ćwiczenia | Euronews Polska
By Jan Bolanowski | 27 September 2026
Polska i Litwa pracują nad międzynarodowym planem ewakuacji ludności na wypadek poważnego kryzysu lub zagrożenia militarnego.
Weekly summary:
Euronews Polska reports that Poland and Lithuania are developing a cross-border evacuation plan for a major crisis or military threat, potentially allowing residents of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to move through Poland. The work is being tested during Lithuania’s Vyčio Skliautas 2026 exercise, which examines warning, registration, transport and evacuation procedures. The article highlights the strategic role of the Suwałki corridor as the land connection between the Baltic states and the rest of NATO and the European Union. Read more
Way Ahead | 28 September-4 October 2026
NATO Secretary General meets the Prime Minister of Lithuania
Organizer: NATO
Date: 29 September 2026
Description: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to receive Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, followed by a joint press conference.
How allies are investing in the US defense industrial base
Organizer: Atlantic Council
Date: 29 September 2026
Description: The Atlantic Council’s Forward Defense program will host a panel on allied investment in the U.S. defense industrial base, including manufacturing, technology transfer and industrial strategy.
NATO Secretary General to visit Germany
Organizer: NATO
Date: 1 October 2026
Description: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is scheduled to visit Münster, engage with the 1st German-Netherlands Corps, meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, and speak at the International Westphalian Peace Prize Award Ceremony.
Japan as a Maritime Great Power and the China Challenge
Organizer: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Date: 1 October 2026
Description: The CSIS Japan Chair will host a discussion on Japan’s evolution as a maritime power, challenges posed by China and prospects for U.S.-Japan cooperation.
The Implications of the Hormuz Energy Crisis for Energy Policymaking in Southeast Asia
Organizer: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Date: 2 October 2026
Description: The CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program will examine how Southeast Asian economies are responding to the Hormuz energy crisis and the longer-term implications for regional energy security policy.
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Disclaimer: AI technologies were utilized to support the content creation and drafting process for NAVI Radar Weekly.
The NAVI Research Institute is the research division of NATO Veterans Initiative - NAVI that provides a unique perspective to transatlantic leaders and societies on peace and security through the lens of NATO's founding principles of rule of law, democracy, human rights, and individual liberties. The NAVI Research Institute was officially established by the NAVI Board on July 16th, 2023.
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