From Monday, October 27, to November 7, the largest NATO experiment to date in the research and testing of new defence technologies, the Digital Backbone Experiment (DiBaX), will take place at the Ādaži military base and virtually in several NATO member states, according to the Ministry of Defence.
This year, the experiment will focus on the use of unmanned systems in complex operational environments, as well as the application of artificial intelligence in target identification and situational awareness tasks.
Defence Minister Andris Sprūds (Progressives) pointed out that DiBaX is the only military technology experiment of this scale that NATO has been conducting in Latvia for four years.
“This confirms the development of our defence industry in the field of 5G technology, the contribution of the National Armed Forces to the development of innovation, and the ability of Latvia’s defence infrastructure to host experiments of this level,” said Sprūds.
Juris Binde, President of SIA “Latvijas Mobilais telefons” (LMT), emphasised that “DiBaX” is not just a technological experiment – it is proof that Latvia is capable of leading the way in NATO’s digital transformation process.
“LMT has been the technology integrator for this experiment for four years now, and every year we see rapid growth – more member states, more complex tasks, higher technical standards,” said Binde.
He pointed out that it is significant that Latvian defence industry companies are becoming increasingly involved in the experiment, creating solutions tailored to the battlefield of the future. This cooperation between the public and private sectors, combined with modern technological capabilities, already allows us to do an unimaginable amount for national defence.
Digital infrastructure is an essential part of NATO’s multi-domain operations—land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace—ensuring connectivity between complex force structures.
During DiBaX, the latest technological innovations will be demonstrated and evaluated, testing their integration capabilities in real operational conditions to strengthen the interoperability and effectiveness of allied forces.
DiBaX is organised in cooperation with NATO Allied Command Transformation, the Ministry of Defence, and the National Armed Forces, with LMT participating as the experiment integrator and also providing the most modern 5G test environment.
During the experiment, from October 27 to November 7, flights of various types and sizes of unmanned aerial vehicles will take place in Latvia, including in the Latvian-Estonian border area. Residents are asked not to be alarmed when they see unmanned aerial vehicles.
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