In recent weeks, a Succession of incursions of drones and airplanes Russians About the heavens From Poland, Romania, Estonia, Denmark and Norway has evidenced the vulnerability of European airspace. The violations have forced to close civil airports, activate NATO fighters and use missiles to tear down devices whose price is just a fraction of the projectiles thrown against them. The alarm has spread from the Baltic to the Atlantic, and in Europe it has taken strength An idea: The answer must be a coordinated effort on the continental scale.
The concept “Drones Wall”. Yes, under the impulse of the European Commissioner of Defense, Andrius Kubilius, the idea of A “drone wall” that protects all of Europe in the face of Russian threat. The initiative raises a multilayer system with radars, acoustic sensors, interception platforms, short -range anti -aircraft artillery and defensive drones, all connected to the network to share data in real time between countries.
The objective is to achieve interoperability and common coverage that allows detect and neutralize drones In seconds. The project, which will be presented at the Copenhagen informal summit, extends beyond border countries with Russia to cover the entire continent, also integrating spatial capabilities in collaboration with the European Space Agency.
Ukraine, the partner. A central aspect is the participation of Ukrainethat after more than three years of war has become the armed force more experienced In the world in defense against Drones swarms. Its manufacturers, supported by the immediate feedback of the front, They have developed industries capable of adapting designs in a matter of weeks, something that contrasts with the rigidity of the European arms industry.
kyiv has offered Share knowledge, send technical teams to train NATO armies and participate in the joint development of systems. Several countries, including United Kingdom and Denmarkthey have already begun to weave industrial alliances with Ukrainian manufacturers to produce drones in common, aware that the future of air defense goes through a close integration with the innovative capacity of Ukraine.
Politics, money and the EU. The drone wall project advances in parallel to a large -cut financial initiative: a 140,000 million loan from euros to Ukraine based on frozen Russian assets in the EU. Germany, who had been reluctant, has shown willingness to support The plan, convinced that without those funds It will be impossible Replace the void left by the American withdrawal.
The formula would avoid direct confiscation of the funds, preserving international legality, but would allow Generate immediate resources to sustain the warlike ukrainian effort. Hungary, despite its proximity to Kremlin, It has not blocked So far the sanctions, but the fear of a veto forces Brussels to explore legal ways that raffle the need for unanimity. The interrelation between financing to Ukraine and the deployment of a continental drone shield underlines that European defense can no longer separate from kyiv’s survival.
Berlin’s doubts. Despite the enthusiasm of Brussels and the East countries, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, He has cooled This week expectations. In his opinion, the idea that a wall of drones can be operational in three or four years, when the processes of acquisition and technological development are much slower.
Pistorius insists on Prioritize flexible capabilitiesthat allow to adapt to a technology in constant evolution, rather than commit to a rigid and high cost concept. His words reflect a latent tension between those who demand speed and forcefulness, Like the Baltic or Polandand those who advocate prudence and financial sustainability, Like Germany. However, even the most skeptical coincide in the need to spend massively in anti -Didstock defense, even if it is outside the framework of a common wall.
UK’s role: Project Octopus. In parallel, the United Kingdom has announced Your own contribution to a joint program with Ukraine, called Project octopusdestined to produce in British factories low -cost interceptors that can be manufactured in series and deploy in a matter of weeks. These devices, effective against The Iranian Shahedthey have a production cost ten times minor that the equivalent systems and could become the backbone of the short -range European air defense.
London plans Share intellectual property with kyiv and supply the drones to both Ukraine and NATO countries, thus expanding their strategic influence. British involvement also seeks to compensate for its departure from the EU, showing that it remains a pillar of the European defense against Russia.
New strategic balance. The initiative of the drone wall is framed in a broader context: progressive separation of the United Statesdriven by Trump’s policy. The partial abandonment of Washington has crystallized the evidence that the main military ally of Europe is no longer the United States, but Ukraine itselfwhich brings more than 700,000 active combatants, an agile arms industry and the determination to resist Moscow.
Europe, therefore, aims to stop seeing kyiv as a mere consumer of military aid and starting to integrate it as a Security provider. The industrial agreements in drones are the first step of a symbiosis that could redefine continental defensive architecture.
Between urgency and uncertainty. Under this scenario, Europe faces A crossroads: You need to act quickly to cover its vulnerabilities to Russian drones, but at the same time you must manage expectations and avoid financial or technological commitments that are unfeasible. The drone wall symbolizes EU’s will to build A common defenseinteroperable and sustained, but its success will depend on the ability to reconcile the demands of the eastern flank with the caution of the western nucleus.
The Collaboration with Ukrainefinancing based on frozen Russian assets and British involvement They point to a future in which European security is built on its own pillars, or less dependent on the United States. In that transformation, drones do not seem only tactical tools: they have become the emblem of a Europe that desperately seeks shield his sky while redefine your place in the global strategic order.
Image | Khamenei.ir, Nara, Rawpixel
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