Announcement comes after European bloc blamed Russia for violating Polish airspace in drone incursion earlier this month.
European Union defence ministers have agreed to develop a “drone wall” along their borders with Russia and Ukraine to detect, track and intercept violations of their airspace, according to the bloc’s defence chief.
Friday’s announcement comes after rogue drones entered Polish airspace on September 10, rattling eastern EU members.
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Earlier this week, Denmark closed some of its airports after drones were flown near them, with the country’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warning that hybrid attacks were becoming more frequent.
Although Danish authorities have not concluded their investigations, Frederiksen stressed that Russia was currently the primary threat to European security.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the drone incidents in Poland and Denmark.
“The repeated violations of our airspace are unacceptable. The message is clear: Russia is testing the EU and NATO. And our response must be firm, united and immediate,” EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said after chairing a virtual meeting of 10 countries on Europe’s eastern flank on Friday.
Kubilius, who called the meeting a “milestone”, said the drone shield could take a year to build, and that envoys from the countries would meet soon to develop “a detailed conceptual and technical roadmap” for the path ahead.
The top priority is an “effective detection system,” he said.
EU officials say that within the first year, a network of sensors will be developed to better spot drone incursions. The longer-term plan is to build the capabilities to intercept drones.
When drones were detected in Polish airspace earlier this month, NATO jets scrambled to shoot them down with expensive missiles.
Ukraine, which has developed cheaper ways to down drones amid its ongoing war with Russia, also attended the EU talks on Friday.
“The drone wall will create a fundamentally new defence ecosystem in Europe, of which Ukraine is ready to be a part,” Ukraine’s Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on social media.
Kubilius, speaking to the AFP news agency on Friday, said: “We need to move fast. And we need to move, taking all the lessons from Ukraine and making this drone wall together with Ukraine.”
Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland had already been working on a drone wall project. However, in March, the European Commission rejected a joint Estonia-Lithuania request for funds to launch the initiative.
The EU’s executive branch has changed its stance after the recent drone incursions.
Earlier this month, Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Commission president, called for a drone wall to be developed.
Von der Leyen has said that the EU will spend 6 billion euros ($7bn) on establishing a drone alliance with Ukraine.
The drone wall is expected to be discussed further at an EU summit in Copenhagen next week and at a meeting later this month in Brussels.
