The Netherlands wants to invest in cheaper drone-shooting systems than F-35 fighters, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said in an interview with Ukrinform.
According to the government official, the existing capabilities to counter drones are not available on the scale they need and are not synchronized with each other. At the same time, he emphasized that he is proud that it was the Dutch F-35 fighters that shot down the Russian drones when they entered Polish airspace on the night of September 10.
"The historicity of this moment is that it was the first time this happened under the NATO flag. People in Romania, the Baltics and other places used to ask: 'Where is NATO? Why isn't it reacting?' And the Dutch F-35s were the first. It was the first time the Alliance reacted and destroyed the drones," Brekelmans said.
The minister noted that the country needs to invest in cheaper options for shooting down drones, adding that such systems exist.
"Knowledge and cheaper systems exist, but not on such a scale, and they are not synchronized with each other. This is the challenge for NATO and Europe, which must create a system capable of protecting the Eastern Flank from drone incursions," the minister clarified.
According to Breckelmans, the Netherlands has a lot to learn from Ukraine. He also emphasized that investing in supporting our country is an opportunity to learn so that similar systems can be applied in the Netherlands and NATO in the future.
It was previously reported that the European Parliament called for a "united EU response" to attacks by Russian planes and drones. 469 MEPs voted "for", 97 "against", and 38 abstained. This could be another step towards a "drone wall" on the EU's eastern border.