EU countries analyze the possibility of lifting the “anti-drone wall on Friday, after Russia's repeated incursions into the European airspace
Alabuga drone factory, Russia. Photo: Not Supplied / Willwest News / Profimedia
The member countries of the European Union will debate on Friday, for the first time, proposals regarding the building of a “wall” of defense of the community bloc against drones, developed at speed after several air incursions, AFP reports.
The drone's survete over the airports in Denmark also puts pressure on the “old continent”, notes the quoted press agency.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, evoked the idea of a European “drone” for the first time in a speech in mid-September.
“It is not an abstract ambition. It is the foundation of a credible defense,” she pleaded, a few hours after the incursion of over 20 Russian drones into the aerial space of Poland.
The head of the European Executive was pronounced in favor of a “developed European capacity, carried out and maintained in common, capable of reacting in real time.”
The commissioner responsible for defense issues, Andrius Kubilius, will try to deepen these proposals, in a video conference on Friday, together with representatives from about ten EU Member States.
These countries are largely neighbors with Russia, and Denmark was added on the list after the repeated surprises of some drones of unknown origin.
Ukraine, which has developed a number of means for detecting and lowering Russian drones at low costs, will also be participated.
Who gives the order for the breaking of the drones that violate the airspace of Romania / in the case of military aircraft, their destruction is a measure of the Minister of Defense, after the CSAT-Video meeting
European officials, ask about what form this “wall” will take, I admit that the details related to that initiative are still very vague.
According to them, the first stages should be able to reside in the installation of a larger number of sensors along the extended border that EU has with Russia.
The development of an integrated system capable of breaking drones would probably take much longer, they add.
The NATO reaction to the incursion of Russian drones into Poland has highlighted the alienation arsenal's gaps in the face of this threat.
In order to break these over 20 drones, the North Atlantic Alliance had to carry out costly missiles.
This “drone wall” is part of a wider effort in Europe to strengthen its defense capabilities against the Russian threat.
All these initiatives will be examined at the EU State Chiefs Summit, envisaged for next week in Copenhagen.
