In Washington, Latvia's president Edgars Rinkēvičs offered a sober reckoning with a truth that alliances prefer not to speak aloud: the speed of modern warfare is outpacing the speed of modern preparation. As drone and missile technology evolves at what he called 'lightning speed' over Ukrainian skies, the defensive architectures of NATO — built for a slower, more predictable world — risk becoming relics before they are even finished. The warning is not merely technical; it is a question of whether democratic coalitions can summon collective will before the window for doing so quietly closes.