From Markets to Battlefields: How NATO Should Respond to Drone Proliferation by Non-State Actors
Croce Rossi Longhi, Gerardo
Croce Rossi Longhi, Gerardo
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Abstract
This policy thesis examines how NATO should respond to the accelerating proliferation of drone capabilities among both non state actors and states. It asks what policies the Alliance should adopt to regulate this diffusion while strengthening deterrence and operational resilience. The thesis argues that NATO’s response remains uneven because drones have become low cost, scalable tools of battlefield lethality and grey zone coercion, yet alliance doctrine, procurement, and training still reflect assumptions shaped by more conventional and clearly attributable air threats. The analysis identifies four connected gaps: the absence of a unified alliance doctrine for drone threats, major capability disparities across members, legal ambiguity over attribution and proportional response, and insufficient training for drone saturated environments. The Ukraine war serves as the primary empirical anchor, showing how mass drone employment and rapid innovation can outpace legacy air defence concepts. Three policy priorities emerge. NATO should adopt an alliance wide drone doctrine with shared legal and attribution standards. It should field a modular, jointly procured counter UAS package that reduces capability gaps and integrates rapid acquisition of dual use technologies. It should institutionalise drone specific training and deepen NATO EU industrial alignment to accelerate interoperable capability development and strengthen collective regulation.
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Master of Arts in International Affairs -- John Cabot University, Fall 2025.
Date
2025
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Keywords
Security, International, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Citation
Croce Rossi Longhi, Gerardo. "From Markets to Battlefields: How NATO Should Respond to Drone Proliferation by Non-State Actors". Master's Thesis, John Cabot University, Rome, Italy. 2025.