NATO does not have time to wait for Europe to build a fully sovereign technology stack before preparing for a potential conflict with Russia, according to James Appathurai, the Alliance\u2019s deputy assistant secretary general for strategy and policy, cyber and digital transformation.<\/p>\n
Speaking at Resilience Conference<\/a> on Monday, 5 October, Appathurai said the Alliance is having to work to two different timelines: getting the best available AI and data into the hands of warfighters now, while building a more sovereign<\/a> and resilient architecture for the future.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have direction to be ready to fight a defensive war soon, and that timeframe, very frankly, has been brought forward because of the circumstances in which we find ourselves,\u201d Appathurai said.<\/p>\n NATO therefore needs to ensure warfighters and decision makers have the technology to be \u201cready to fight tonight\u201d, he said, even as member states pursue greater technological sovereignty.<\/p>\n Russia is driving the urgency, which Appathurai said has built a war economy and oriented much of its society toward conflict. NATO commanders consequently want a functioning transatlantic warfighting cloud capable of moving data \u201cfrom sensor to shooter and across borders\u201d.<\/p>\n But the reliance on American technology required to make that happen is causing unease in Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are concerns in European countries about a kill switch, about over reliance on the US tech stack,\u201d Appathurai said.<\/p>\n NATO is responding by deliberately building a federated architecture rather than relying on one country or system. The Alliance has adopted Palantir\u2019s Maven Smart System within its command structure, but Appathurai stressed it would sit alongside technology from multiple countries on both sides of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n That provides political reassurance but also resilience if infrastructure is attacked. \u201cIn the event of combat, things are going to be targeted, and that includes data centres,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Building an entirely European alternative in the meantime is not realistic, however.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the timeframes that we have to be able to fight effectively, there is not going to be a sovereign European tech stack that can replace all the capability,\u201d Appathurai said. \u201cWe need to do this in a transatlantic way.\u201d<\/p>\n Ukraine has already demonstrated why NATO believes it cannot hang around. Appathurai said the debate over whether AI should be used on the battlefield had been \u201ctotally overtaken by reality\u201d, with extensive jamming pushing warfare towards a \u201cpost-GPS environment\u201d increasingly dependent on AI, optical sensors and mesh networks.<\/p>\n