Rebuild Ukraine Forum 2026 / Panel IXa / 23 October 2026

The discussions focused on the lessons of the war in Ukraine regarding unmanned systems, military adaptation, air defense and the global technological implications. Opening the panel, Hans Damen noted that current US military doctrine emphasizes the dispersion of military assets. Andriy Sirko-Galouchenko stressed that air defense is vital for Ukraine’s survival against daily barrages of 300 to 1,000 large drones and dozens of missiles. Ukraine has built a remarkably powerful system to detect any flying object, yet the variety of speeds and sizes leaves no single solution, which makes constant technological evolution the only path forward. He added that less than 80% of Ukraine’s operational experience would apply to another major war.

Addressing industrial and technological dependencies, Adrian Iacob warned that Russia continues to sustain its missile arsenal with Western technology and components, while Europe still lacks its own solutions in critical areas such as space, hypersonics, precision munitions, heavy lift and secure telecommunications. Robert Hamilton analyzed the constant adaptation on the battlefield: the trade-off between cost and performance, the return of jet-powered drones (Geran 4 and 5) and the challenges US-supplied drones faced against Russian electronic countermeasures. The boundary between drones and cruise missiles, he noted, is rapidly disappearing.

Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Tomasz Piotrowski pointed out that Russia keeps gaining combat experience and refining its autonomous, naval and space capabilities, including moving corvettes through internal waterways towards the Baltic Sea, and that the rise of artificial intelligence will test military leadership to the limit. Charity Lin presented Taiwan’s rapid progress in defense technology and AI under pressure from China, warned about the mass use of tens of thousands of cheap micro-drones and stressed the need for dense radar networks to monitor airspace.

In the final round, panelists underscored that air defense must work as an integrated system against longer-range threats such as the upcoming 1,500 km Geran 6. The panel concluded that Europe and allied democracies need a more proactive strategic posture, an end to critical technological dependencies and strong operational capabilities to deter future aggression.