Michał Gostkiewicz
The European Union announces the construction of a "drone wall" – a multilayer strategy of sensors, disruptors and kinetic effects deployed along the east flank to detect, track and neutralise unmanned vehicles. erstwhile Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė warns that Vladimir Putin will not give Europe extra time. General Philip Breedlove argues in turn that effectiveness will only be ensured by hitting the "all-deep structure" alternatively than just the drones already in the air.
The EU's east flank. Early detection systems as part of the "drone wall". Illustration picture. Fig. DF, thefad.pl / AI
– We will propose immediate action to build a drone wall within the defender of east Flanka – announced Ursula von der Leyen at a joint conference in Brussels with the NATO Secretary-General on 30 September.
EU responds to airspace violations
Mark Rutte, who attended the gathering of the European Commission, justified the request for the task to be breached with airspace violations of Poland, Estonia and Denmark. He pointed out the cost imbalance: There's no point shooting down inexpensive drones with millions of dollars worth of bullets.
Von der Leyen stressed that the EU needs "flag defence projects“ Must Work ‘strong and fast’, and in the case of east Flanka Guards – ‘now’, in cooperation with Ukraine and in close consultation with NATO. However, the question is whether EU ‘now’ It's inactive not besides slow.
"Dron Wall" as east Flank Watch Pillar
Political and organisational scaffolding of the task is the work of EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius. Under its leadership on Friday, 26 September, the EU formally inaugurated its work on the "mura" as part of the wider east Flank Watch programme, a land, sea and air defence strategy along the east border of the Union. Kubilius assures that the countries afraid have passed “from talks to action”.
The initiative is attended by east flank states: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as Denmark, whose territory is besides affected by suspicious drones, and, contrary to erstwhile reports, Hungary and Slovakia. Ukraine joined the group, invited due to the experience of the front and dynamically developed drone industry. president Volodymyr Zelenski late announced that the country, despite the ongoing war, would launch exports of its own weapons. Kubilius himself estimated that implementation in the field could take about a year, but added that these forecasts were approached with a reserve.
“We don’t have this year”
– We are not having this year," says Deutsche Welle Dalia Grybauskaitė. The Warsaw safety Forum was the president of Lithuania, now the EU budget commissioner, explains that there is simply a difference between the pace of the Commission's work and what can be done bilaterally, for example in regional cooperation in NATO. In her opinion, all paths must run parallel, due to the fact that no of them are adequate alone.
When asked how the "dron wall" fits into the overall NATO and EU strategy, Grybauskaitė recalls that the Baltic, Nordic and Polish countries are already stepping up their cooperation with Ukraine. – We build factories in Ukraine and in our area. any plants already produce drones – this is happening – he emphasizes. In her opinion, the task has added value: "it engages the European Union as a future defence alliance, not just an economical and political alliance".
– Paradoxically, Putin forces the pace: it leaves no time for debate and waiting. He'll push, so we'll decision faster. Unfortunately, everything indicates that for decades we will have behind the east militaristic border, aggressive Russia – Grybauskaitė evaluates.
What is truly to come?
The "drone wall" debate will be 1 of the main themes of the informal summit of EU leaders in Copenhagen on 1 October. The Commission is to prepare, together with the associate States, the defence manufacture and Ukraine, an implementation plan, from sensor and communication architecture to the disruptive and counter-measure layer (C-UAS), to kinetic measures and consequence procedures. It is part of a wider east Flank defender program, covering activities on land, sea and air.
Kubilius emphasizes 2 pillars: the ability to detect early and the anticipation to neutralize intruders. At the Warsaw safety Forum retired U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove added third: hitting the back room. “The West must halt “shooting arrows” and start “shooting archers”, he says.
Expert: not only drones, but a full chain
– We request the capability to destruct not only the places from which [drones] start, but besides where they are produced, and along the full supply chains – regardless of their origin. If a ship from China is carrying components to drones, we should be able to halt this transport. In another words, you gotta hit deep into the full structure, not just the drones already in the air – convinces the erstwhile U.S. Army Commander in Europe and the ultimate Alliance Commander in Europe (SACEUR).
Breedlove, a erstwhile pilot, points out that drones are only part of a wider combat system. – Aviation is expected to gain and keep an advantage in the air; it is only on this advantage that drones make sense. Both sides of the war in Ukraine show what happens erstwhile it is missing – he points out. – Drony is just another means of demolition that needs to be neutralized. For this, mature operational capabilities are needed – he adds. The strategy remains classical: coherent air, land and sea defence.
Finally, it points to a cost problem. – The weapon we usage is financially inadequate for the purposes we fight. That needs to be corrected. Strengthening Polish air defence will be crucial here – he concludes.
