Drone Incidents in Latvia Highlight Need for Infrastructure Resilience
Following recent drone incursions into Latvian territory, experts argue that infrastructure design must now prioritize resilience and continuity of operations in crisis situations.
A recent opinion piece by the commercial director of architecture office SEP notes that drone incursions in Rēzekne, Krāslava, Ludza and elsewhere in Latvia are no longer a hypothetical threat. They serve as a signal that infrastructure projects need to incorporate resilience alongside energy efficiency, sustainability and functionality.
From functionality to resilience
Traditionally, infrastructure design has focused on quality, operating costs and sustainability. Now, resilience — the ability to ensure uninterrupted operation in emergencies — must become an equally important criterion. This does not mean building military facilities or air-defense systems, but rather adopting design approaches that protect water supply, electricity, communications and transport networks from the start.
Avoiding the single-point failure
Designers are increasingly urged to include backup nodes, alternative connections and independent technological solutions. A system that depends on a single control point or distribution hub can be brought down by one failure. Decentralizing infrastructure into several functional blocks reduces the “one-hit effect” that can paralyze an entire network.
Ukraine’s lesson and private-sector leadership
The war in Ukraine demonstrates that civilian infrastructure — power plants, water systems, transport hubs and manufacturing facilities — is a frequent target. In Latvia, private clients are already asking for business continuity solutions in their projects, while public infrastructure projects have not yet embraced this approach. Security discussions still revolve mostly around shelters, with little attention paid to the preparedness of critical systems.
Need for regulatory change
Without a clear legal framework, progress will be slow. SEP calls on the state to define which facilities constitute critical infrastructure and to establish unified design, construction and resilience requirements. Although initial investments may be higher, they help prevent losses and ensure the delivery of essential services in emergencies, benefiting society in the long run. The recent drone incidents mark a turning point, showing that infrastructure resilience is not just a military concern but a fundamental part of public safety. Planning today must consider how systems will function even when parts of them are damaged.
