The European Commission plans to scale up the "drone wall" initiative – a defense project aimed at protecting the EU's eastern flank – to cover the entire continent. This decision was made after a number of states expressed concern that they were left without adequate protection against potential drone attacks, Reuters reports, citing EU sources, writes UNN.
Details
Reuters reports that, according to two EU officials and one diplomat, the updated "European Drone Defense Initiative" will be included in the "defense readiness roadmap" that the European Commission will present on Thursday.
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The idea of creating a "drone wall" emerged after an incident in September, when about 20 Russian drones violated the airspace of Poland – an EU and NATO member state. At that time, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for the creation of a single European drone countermeasures network – with surveillance systems, signal jamming, and destruction means from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
However, Southern and Western European states expressed dissatisfaction, pointing out that the initial plan covered only the eastern direction and did not take into account threats in the Mediterranean region.
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Responding to these concerns, the European Commission agreed to expand the project to ensure the protection of all bloc countries.
We propose a European Drone Wall. A European Drone Defense Initiative, a drone countermeasures network to protect all of Europe, and other flagship defense projects.
According to sources, the final details of the program may be agreed upon in the coming weeks, and the first stages of implementation are planned to begin as early as 2026. The European Commission expects that the new system will become the basis of a common EU defense architecture capable of responding to drone threats of any scale.