NATO Leaders benchmarks military weapons upon their performance in Ukrainian War.

Oct 2025 : In pursuit of acquiring technologically advanced weapon systems, Nordic army leaders are warning industry of a new critical requirement: they must have already proved their worth in the Ukraine war.

“For new supply chains and new technologies, I’m never going to buy anything that hasn’t worked in Ukraine”, Major General Peter Harling Boysen, Chief of the Royal Danish Army told industry and US Army representatives said last week during an AUSA panel discussion on Northern Europe. Boysen said when in discussion with suppliers, he routinely asks them if their product has been used in Ukraine.

Speaking on stage alongside Boysen, Lieutenant General Pasi Välimäki, Commander of the Finnish Army, also shared a similar message. From “the products that we have seen here at AUSA” the show floor includes “a demonstrator, that’s nice”, but systems operating in Ukraine are much easier for industry to demonstrate their “actual product works”.

“That’s the secret, to pique my interest”, he added. Välimäki suggested that with a speedy acquisition cycle in which he has a two year “window of opportunity” to sign new equipment contracts, he needs platforms that are mature and shown to be effective. “You’re either in or you’re out”, he said of the procurement plan.

ivars Puriņš, Latvia’s state secretary, told reporters on the sidelines of AUSA that manufacturers should be testing their new technologies as close to “a deployed situation” as possible, in order to gain product feedback. “We have had too many stories, I think, over these years in Ukraine where the best technology solutions were deployed, and suddenly they didn’t work as they were kind of supposed to be and that’s the logic we should not be repeating”.

He said that Latvia is focused on “building up” a drone test range, after establishing a drone competency centre in Riga. “What we want to have is Ukrainian officers, kind of coming through, being kind of a continuous presence, which would kind of give them a better place” for testing equipment as close to “real-life conditions” as possible.

Drone-Focused Programs Amid Incursions –

Opened last month, the competency centre serves as a “national platform for the development and integration of drone technologies within the Latvian National Armed Forces”, according to a Latvian Ministry of Defense statement. “Its core mission will be to ensure the continuity of drone system and component supplies for the National Armed Forces in times of crisis, support Latvian companies in developing drones tailored to military operational needs”. The centre can cater for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) across air, land and sea domains, alongside counter UAS (C-UAS) solutions.

Drone innovation is also driving Norwegian army modernisation efforts.

“We have launched a drone program with an inspector of drones who will be in charge of coordinating the Norwegian army’s drone initiatives, combined with what we’re doing to support Ukraine with drones as well”, Major General Lars Lervik, Chief of the Norwegian army, told reporters last week. Funding of 1.5 billion Norwegian Krone ($1.49 million) is to be invested in the effort over 10 years.

The overall idea is not just to get better value for money related to new acquisitions, but to also coordinate overall efforts to make sure that there is actually drone innovation happening in all parts of the army, said Lervik. Notable progress to date includes the rollout of a drone swarm pilot, involving Six Robotics Valkyrie autonomous drones, designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Lervik said that additionally, the Norwegian Army is also testing first person view, interceptor and attack drones. My ambition is to be able to integrate them into swarms eventually.

“We need to accept that there are no perfect solutions. We can’t afford to have a national special requirements. If it’s good enough for the three other Nordic members, it’s good enough for me”, said Denmark’s Harling Boysen.

The focus on uncrewed systems innovation comes amid a series of Russian drone incursions across Europe that has led to NATO boost its presence on the Eastern Flank. A flurry of other drone sightings over several European airports has also prompted the European Union to float development of a drone wall, based around a multi-layered air defence network, complete with a mix of counter-drone solutions.

Harling Boysen said that Russian drones flying in European air space should be shot down to send a clear signal to Moscow that we know what you do, and it is unacceptable.

Latvia’s Delayed Long-Range Fire –

Elsewhere, Lervik said that Norway’s long range precision fires acquisition, planned to see a preferred contractor selected this past summer, has been delayed. “There’s lots of other things happening in the procurement world, I think that that was mostly the part that caused a delay, but of course we also needed to get the necessary information from possible vendors, including the FMS case, from the US. So that’s taken a while as well”, he said.

The “hope” said Lervik is to “be able to conclude the process of comparing alternatives and give a recommendation to government by Christmas”, ahead of a contract award provisional planned for “early” 2026.

Lockheed Martin’s M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace K239 Chunmoo Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) are two of the leading contenders involved in the competition, according to Lervik.

Rounding off latest developments on other big ticket acquisitions, he said that Oslo could buy as many as 80 BAE Systems CV90 infantry fighting vehicles, made to the advanced MkIV standard. The future order is part of a wider joint procurement plan that also features Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Sweden.

“It is still to be decided” when a contract will be placed, said Lervik, though “early next year” could potentially be agreed among the European nations. BAE Systems is eyeing Q2 2026 for contract award that will cover “hundreds” of vehicles.

Team Maverick