NATO's Urgent Defense Gaps: Lessons from Ukraine & Middle East

0:00It's April 28th. This is U.S. News Today, AI-powered stories from across the country. European military leaders are linking the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East as key lessons for NATO, pushing for big changes in how we build, defenses. Officials now fear Russia could attack a NATO country by 2029, with ammo shortages topping the list of worries. The U.S. has burned through about half its stock of Patriot missiles in the fight with Iran, and France saw its supplies drop fast, too. Meanwhile, Russia pumps out 6,000 to 7,000 drones every month, which could drain NATO's top air defenses in just weeks. Experts warned that without quick fixes, Russia could make any war too expensive for the alliance to sustain. Naval forces are another weak spot. Britain's top commander says the Royal Navy isn't war-ready, Canada has got less than half its ships operational, and overall NATO fleet readiness is seriously low. NATO's are rising politically, too, especially with the U.S. President slamming NATO as a paper

1:01tiger and pushing allies to pay up. European leaders turned down his requests for help in Iran, and a former NATO chief says it's time for a tougher, deal-making stance with Washington. Ukraine stands out as a real asset here, sharing know-how on fighting drones and proving its value amid these conflicts. NATO's got to ramp up deep-strike options and aim for air control to handle threats like Russia on its own.