EU to develop ‘drone wall’ amid regional airspace violations

According to the defense chief of the European Union, the ministers of defense have agreed to build a “drone wall” along their borders with Russia and Ukraine to track, track, and intercept airstrikes.

The news comes after rogue drones rattling eastern EU members swooped into Polish airspace on September 10.

Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen issued a warning that hybrid attacks were becoming more frequent after drones flew near some of its airports earlier this week.

Although Danish authorities are still conducting their inquiries, Frederiksen emphasized that Russia is currently the biggest threat to European security.

The Kremlin has denied being a part of the drone attacks in Denmark and Poland.

“Our airspace has been repeatedly violated,” he said. Russia is testing NATO and the EU, and the message is clear. Andrius Kubilius, the EU’s defense commissioner, addressed a virtual meeting of 10 nations on Europe’s eastern flank on Friday, arguing that their response must be firm, united, and immediate.

Kubilius, who described the meeting as a “milestone,” claimed a drone shield could take a year to build and that country envoys would soon work together to create a “detailed conceptual and technical roadmap” for the project’s development.

An “effective detection system” is his top priority, he claimed.

According to EU officials, a network of sensors will be developed to better identify drone intrusions in the first year. The longer-term goal is to develop drone interceptor capabilities.

NATO jets scrambled to shoot down drones with expensive missiles when they were discovered in Polish airspace earlier this month.

In addition to its ongoing conflict with Russia, Ukraine, which has found less expensive ways to down drones, also showed up at the EU talks on Friday.

According to Ukraine’s defense minister Denys Shmyhal on social media, “the drone wall will create a fundamentally new defence ecosystem in Europe, of which Ukraine is ready to be a part.”

We need to move quickly, Kubilius told the AFP news agency on Friday. And we need to move, bringing Ukraine’s experience to bear, and creating a drone wall with Ukraine.

A drone wall project had already been developed by Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. The European Commission rejected a joint request for funding from Estonia and Lithuania in March.

Following the recent drone attacks, the executive branch of the EU has changed its mind.

The EU Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, demanded the creation of a drone wall earlier this month.

Von der Leyen has predicted that the EU will invest $6 billion (7 billion) to form a drone alliance with Ukraine.