EU Eyes Rapid Deployment of Drone Detection Systems Amid Russian Airspace Violations
The European Union could significantly boost its ability to detect drones within a year, but building a comprehensive defense shield stretching across land and sea borders will take much longer, the bloc’s Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Euractiv.
Kubilius stated that rapid procurement of detection systems would be the first step in creating what officials have dubbed a “drone wall,” an initiative that has gained momentum following a series of recent airspace violations by Russia.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted the drone wall in her September State of the Union address, naming it one of the EU’s top defense priorities.
“We need to understand [that] we lack capabilities to detect drones,” said Kubilius at Euractiv’s launch event for its daily defence digest FIREPOWER. “Maybe we have good capability to detect air fighters and missiles, but drones have specificity – they are flying very low, they are small.”
Experts estimate that a basic detection network could be operational within a year, giving Europe greater ability to fend off drone attacks and provocations.
Kubilius said the EU should learn from Ukraine, which has deployed acoustic sensors to catch drones invisible to radars.
Other options under discussion include laser systems that can down drones at relatively low cost. Officials stress that the network must also cover maritime borders, following recent incidents of drones entering the airspace of Norway and Denmark.
Investigations into the latest violations have yet to identify the perpetrators, with Danish police saying only that the attacks appeared to be the work of a “highly qualified actor.”
Robert de Groot, vice president of the European Investment Bank in charge of defense and security, said financing would be channeled with priority to the EU’s eastern flank.
He stressed the need for new bases, infrastructure, and military mobility. “We need to get the stuff from one side of Europe to the other side of Europe, mostly from west to east but also from north to south,” De Groot added.
Seven EU border nations – Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria – are due to meet on September 26 to discuss the plan.
Slovakia and Hungary, seen as closer to Moscow, were left out of the initial project. Still, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini said his country would “do everything necessary” to take part in the drone wall initiative.
As The Gaze previously reported, Ukraine has been invited to take part in upcoming negotiations among European Union defense ministers on plans to establish a “drone wall” along the bloc’s eastern frontier.