After Russian drones violated NATO airspace, the European Union is rushing to spend billions of euros to create a "drone wall." They want to use technologies that have been combat-tested in Ukraine, The Financial Times reports.
The response to the recent incursions of Russian drones into Poland and Romania has shown that NATO relies on expensive technology to intercept relatively cheap UAVs. This is a vulnerability that Russia could continue to exploit.
"To fill this gap, Brussels has called on the capitals of member states to use EU funds and jointly procure systems that have proven themselves well in Ukraine," the publication writes.
Hours after NATO jets shot down several of the approximately 19 drones that had invaded Polish airspace, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe should "build a wall of drones" on its eastern border.
She noted that it would be "a European capability, jointly developed, jointly deployed and jointly maintained, capable of responding in real time."
Ursula von der Leyen also noted that the EU will also create a "drone alliance" with Kyiv, backed by €6 billion in funding, to "transform Ukrainian ingenuity into battlefield advantage and joint industrialization."
Meanwhile, Poland, the Baltic states and Finland have announced plans to strengthen their borders. But officials warn that such an approach will only be effective if it is unified and based on shared and fully integrated technologies.
“Europe’s defense posture is too fragmented, but it is in this particular area that we really need much more coordination… We cannot have one [frontline] state doing one thing on its border and another doing something else,” said one EU official.
The publication also added: to fill the gap in the acquisition of new defense systems, NATO has launched an air defense mission - Eastern Sentry. It involves the use of fighters, ships and reconnaissance systems deployed along the eastern flank, from Finland to Bulgaria.
The Financial Times also recalled that while Kyiv relies on Western partners for air defense systems to shoot down missiles, it has become "a pioneer in developing cost-effective ways to combat Russian strike drones."
By the way, recently, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that the United Kingdom will produce Ukrainian interceptor drones. Initially, it is planned to produce the first thousand drones - all of them will be delivered to Ukraine.
At the end of August, it was reported that the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine had already allowed more than 25 samples of Ukrainian unmanned aerial interceptor systems to be operated in units.