EU Sets 2027 Target for Anti-Drone Shield Amid Rising Russian Threats 

The European Union has announced a historic security initiative aimed at establishing a comprehensive anti-drone defence system by end of 2027 to safeguard European airspace from aerial threats following growing concerns over increased military posture from Russia and the proliferation of drone activity in Eastern Europe. In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas commented that drones are “redefining modern warfare” and it is “no longer an option” to have a robust ability to defend against them. The anti-drone defence strategy is a key component of the EU’s new “defence readiness roadmap,” which sets an ambitious timetable for the EU to be prepared for high-intensity conflict by 2030. 

This activity comes after several recent incidents, being Russia has purportedly breached airspace in Poland and Romania, and the East was violated for 12 minutes, receiving an urgent call for NATO consultations. Since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, more than 5,000 drone strikes have occurred along or across European Union borders according to various European security agencies. The reported plan would include building multi-layered “drone walls” to detect, track and neutralize aerial threats, enhance eastern border surveillance, and expand collective procurement of air defence systems.

Andrius Kubilius, the European Defence Commissioner, stated that the project would be developed in careful coordination with NATO for interoperability and cost-sharing since no price was disclosed. The price of the project will be “considerable but not in the hundreds of billions,” reported Kubilius because it has yet to be manufactured. The strategy reflects broader European worries that Russia’s aggression may move west even after the end of the war in Ukraine. The roadmap, which will probably be approved at the summit of EU leaders next week, reflects the EU’s most ambitious collective defense endeavor in decades.