EU Commissioner Calls for 'Drone Wall' on Eastern EU Border

European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius called on Lithuania and neighbouring Baltic countries to create a joint defence system based on unmanned technologies.

The Gaze reports on it, referring to his comment to Lithuanian broadcaster LRT.

This call came after a drone from Belarus violated Lithuanian airspace. The European Commissioner noted that the incident demonstrated the reality of threats from Russia and Belarus and raised the issue of Lithuania's readiness to counter unmanned means of invasion.

‘Whether Lithuania is ready to defend itself against such drones and whether it has the necessary capabilities to do so remains an unanswered question,’ Andrius Kubilius said.

The European Commissioner called on countries in the region to review their strategy for protecting the European Union's eastern border. He stressed the need to integrate innovative technologies, in particular unmanned systems, in addition to existing physical barriers.

"I continue to urge Lithuania and the countries of the region working on the so-called Eastern Border Security Plan to go beyond physical barriers. The creation of a wall of drones should be included in such a plan," he stressed.

The European Commissioner also stressed the need to create a system for the rapid production of drones, which would allow the Baltic countries to quickly manufacture the necessary number of devices adapted for border protection.

As The Gaze reported earlier, the incident occurred on 10 July. At that time, a homemade aircraft flew from Belarus to Lithuania. At first, it was identified as a Shahed, but later Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė clarified that it was a Gerbera model drone.