NATO announced on Thursday that it has launched a new platform to enable its 32 member states to acquire certified drone‑defence equipment more quickly. The announcement was reported by AFP. Claudio Palestini, head of NATO’s Innovation and Technology Implementation Section, said the Alliance’s new system is “very simple” and resembles an online shopping experience. He added that the equipment was chosen through a public competition and a several‑month evaluation period, and that it offers the best price‑to‑quality ratio. The platform makes products from companies in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the United States available to member countries for purchase or long‑term lease. The devices, which can cost up to US$28 million, are intended to protect borders and strategic sites and include a range of technologies such as electronic jamming and drone interceptors. The Baltic states, Romania and Poland have reported a series of drone incursions into their airspace during the war between Russia and Ukraine. NATO officials say that the Alliance’s current practice of using expensive missile‑armed fighters to shoot down cheaper drones is not economically sustainable in the long term.