JEF countries struggle to detect drones, but Liepāja fishermen have long known all flying objects

At the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit, leaders announced with great pompous gestures that billions need to be invested in drone detection systems. Apparently none of these NATO strategists have visited Liepāja port, where local fishermen can distinguish a drone from a seagull with a single glance, a NATO helicopter from a Russian fishing vessel, and even tell you whether fish were just caught or have been for sale for three days already.

"While Riga thinks about how to squander money on yet more foreign technologies, we here have known for years — if something flies and isn't a seagull, then it's either a drone or neighbor Jānis's domestic bird," explains Valdis, who works at the port. "And if a bird flies straight, then it's not a bird."

Prime Minister Evika Siliņa tweets about the need to strengthen air defense, but why doesn't anyone listen to our local experts? Liepāja port workers can identify a flying object faster than any NATO radar system — they can even tell if the pilot is from Riga by their flying style.

Meanwhile, JEF member states continue searching for solutions to what we in Liepāja solved long ago — how to distinguish our stuff from foreign stuff. But they probably need a more expensive solution for it to look serious.