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Cogs of War

Lessons Learned and a Big Play on Drones from Latvia

Ryan Evans and Uģis Norītis
July 14, 2025
Lessons Learned and a Big Play on Drones from Latvia
Cogs of War

Cogs of War

Lessons Learned and a Big Play on Drones from Latvia

Lessons Learned and a Big Play on Drones from Latvia

Ryan Evans and Uģis Norītis
July 14, 2025
Could this small state’s collaborative approach to defense planning be the future for countries seeking asymmetric advantages? Ryan traveled to northeastern Europe to sit down with Uģis Norītis, Latvia’s undersecretary of state for planning at its Ministry of Defence, to discuss how Latvia is growing its defense industry and industrial base. Hear how Latvia leverages battlefront testing in Ukraine, military-led prototyping, its budding drone industry, and expansive drone testing and training ranges that it wants to make available to companies from allied countries to prepare for the future fight.

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Image: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Niles Lee via Wikimedia Commons.

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