The Future of NATO Defense, Resilience, and Allied Innovation

As world leaders gather in The Hague for the 2025 NATO Summit, CSIS will host a timely conversation on how allied innovation, battlefield learning, and frontline resilience are shaping the future of defense. The war in Ukraine has accelerated advancements in drone warfare and underscored the need for faster, more agile models of defense production and capability fielding. Latvia offers a powerful case study—from its growing defense investments and national resilience efforts to its role in hosting allied forces and pioneering new approaches and partnerships to field innovative capabilities.

Join a unique panel of academic, investor, and former government experts who recently returned from a Baltic Sea study tour in Latvia—including visits to military installations and the country’s inaugural Drone Summit—for firsthand insights into how the United States and its allies are turning operational urgency into technological and industrial momentum. Panelists will also share their initial takeaways from the NATO Summit. Kari A. Bingen, Director of the CSIS Aerospace Security Project and Senior Fellow in the Defense and Security Department, will be joined by Kristine Berzina, Managing Director, Geostrategy North, German Marshall Fund; Ryan Evans, CEO and Founder, War on the Rocks and Bedrock Knowledge; and Zach Beecher, Partner, Scout Ventures. 

This event is made possible by general support to CSIS.