When does the EU want its anti-drone wall ready? A “road map” will be presented to heads of state and government at next week's summit
A soldier of the German army (Bundeswehr) demonstrates the use of a HP 47 portable drone jammer during a drone defense exercise in Hamburg on September 26, 2025. PHOTO: Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP / Profimedia
The European Commission provided in a project confirmed on Wednesday by Brussels officials the completion of the so-called “anti-drone wall” of the European Union by 2027, reports Agerpres citing the France Presse agency.
The guidelines of the project renamed EDDI (European Drone Defense Initiative) are to be presented on Thursday. The creation of this defense system was decided by the EU in September, following several incursions of Russian drones in European airspace.
NATO's response to the violation of the Polish air border by about 20 drones on September 9 highlighted the gaps in the allied arsenal in the face of threats of this type. The Allies had to resort to expensive missiles to shoot down three drones.
The EU plans to use Ukraine's experience, gained after the Russian invasion that began in February 2022, to implement a more adapted and cost-effective anti-drone system. The Ukrainians already have capabilities for the industrial production of drones and drone interceptors, unique in Europe, and have promised to help Brussels in this regard.
A drone detection system with ground and satellite sensors would be installed next year. Tracking and interception capabilities will be added by 2027, first in the countries on the eastern flank of the Union, closest to the Russian border.
The European Commission wants to extend the “anti-drone wall” to protect the entire continent. States in the south and west have complained that the project ignores threats in their regions
The initiative to be announced on Thursday is part of a 5-year program to strengthen Europe's defense capacity, alongside other important projects such as air defence. The “roadmap” to 2030 will be presented to heads of state and government at next week's EU summit in Brussels.
Several countries, including Germany, have criticized the “drone wall”, concerned about the high costs and overlap with NATO competences and reluctant to involve the European Commission in the field of defence, in which each member state of the Union is sovereign.
