Bloomberg: EU to discuss strengthening air defense after UAV incidents
The EU countries have practically no air defense, Bloomberg reports. This became clear after Europe shot down un-equipped UAVs of unknown origin with expensive missiles. The member states will discuss the drone wall project on Wednesday, but its implementation may take years.
Andrea Palasciano, Piotr Skolimowski and Aaron Eglitis
The increase in the number of cases of unmanned aerial vehicles entering European airspace has prompted Western allies to urgently strengthen their defenses. But the continent faces many challenges that make it difficult to respond quickly.
After European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced last month that the European Union would create a "drone wall," officials and industry leaders in Brussels and across the bloc rushed to find ways to make this idea a reality.
Her statement came a few hours after NATO took the unprecedented step of shooting down drones that invaded Polish airspace, demonstrating the ineffectiveness of the alliance's defense, which deployed expensive missiles to defend against unarmed UAVs. EU leaders, who will meet informally in Copenhagen on Wednesday, are expected to make progress on the von der Leyen plan, but the complexity and necessary financial costs are likely to delay its implementation for several years.
"We are not talking about a concept that will be implemented over the next three or four years, and maybe more," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at a panel discussion in Warsaw on Monday. "That's why we have to think and act in accordance with priorities, and I think they are different."
A source familiar with the matter described the idea as a PR stunt masking a complex reality. Another pointed to the difficulty of creating a "drone wall" along the EU's eastern flank due to the sheer number of passenger and cargo aircraft in European airspace, which increases the risk of collateral damage. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private.
According to people familiar with the matter, the EU's main goal is to figure out who will be responsible for coordination and how to link and synchronize existing national and regional initiatives to go beyond national resources.
But the drone hype risks overshadowing a broader problem: Europe lacks sufficient air and missile defenses and relies almost entirely on the United States for long-range weapons at a time when President Donald Trump is pushing the continent towards greater self-sufficiency.
"The number one problem is still classical air defense," Latvian President Edgar Rinkevich said in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday. Acknowledging that drones are "a very important factor in the conduct of hostilities," he warned that one should not "go to extremes" and forget about other, more pressing issues.
Pointing to the recent incursion of three Russian fighter jets into Estonian airspace, Rinkevich stressed the importance of reviewing the rules according to which NATO takes military action in such situations.
The main problem, recognized by many in the EU and NATO, is that it is difficult for agencies and the traditionally slow defense industry to keep up with the pace of drone technology development.
"The great technology of 2024 will no longer be the same in October 2025," Rinkevich said. "Now everyone understands that it was necessary to create this "drone wall" last year or two years ago."
Money has become another problem in strengthening Europe's eastern border. Member countries have only two months left to submit projects that will be financed from the bloc's 150 billion euro ($176 billion) loan fund, and no other financing is envisaged until the new budget is adopted in 2028.
As part of its support for Ukraine, the EU announced that 6 billion euros from the Group of Seven loan to Ukraine, funded by windfall revenues from frozen Russian assets, will be used to create a "drone manufacturing alliance" with Ukraine.
According to a person familiar with the situation, up to 4 billion euros are expected to arrive by the end of the year. Although this money is mainly intended for Ukraine, it was hoped that some of it could benefit Europe by giving it access to Ukrainian technologies or forcing Ukrainian companies to produce products for the EU.
Kiev has accumulated unprecedented experience in the fight against drones after more than three and a half years of full-scale hostilities.
As for money, according to officials in Berlin, Germany expects intensive discussions among EU leaders in Copenhagen on how to finance European flagship projects such as the drone wall.
Although the bloc's largest economy is massively increasing defense spending and expects other capitals to do the same at the national level, Germany is opposed to any joint loans at this stage, they added.
