Five European Countries Pledge Millions to Produce Low-Cost Air Defense Systems & Drones Using Ukrainian Expertise

Five European countries have announced a new program to produce low-cost air defense systems and autonomous drones using Ukrainian expertise, hard-won in the past four years of war against Russia.

Friday’s initiative by the E5 countries – France, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy – is one of several European efforts to strengthen defenses along their borders, such as a “drone wall” with Russia and Ukraine, to better detect, track and intercept drones that violate European airspace.

Both Moscow and Kyiv have state-of-the-art drone warfare capabilities, where battlefield innovations have been forged in a grim laboratory of warfare that has rewritten modern warfare tactics. Poland is already working with Ukraine on drone technology in joint military training programs and manufacturing projects.

Those efforts were prompted by several incidents in which European borders and airports were screened by rogue drones. Russia has been blamed for some of it, but has denied that anything was deliberate or that it played a role.

Strengthening NATO’s armor

“The UK and our E5 partners are leading the way – investing together in next-generation air defense and autonomous systems to strengthen NATO’s armour,” said Luke Pollard, Britain’s Minister for Defense Readiness and Industry.

“We have some of the best kit on the entire planet for mitigating air threats. The challenge is to be effective in shooting down low-cost missiles, drones and other threats that we face,” he said. “We have to make sure we match the cost of defense with the cost of threats.”

Poland’s defense minister, Władysław Kosinic-Kamisz, said the group of countries had signed an agreement to jointly invest in the production and procurement of drone-based strike capabilities, as well as in a program called Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms, or LEAP, for cheap drone defense systems.

“Combat technologies and methods are changing rapidly – we need to react quickly and appropriately,” Kosinic-Kamisz said. “We signed a key commitment for joint development of drone-based strike capabilities, low-cost joint production and joint procurement of drone effectors, i.e. combat payloads using artificial intelligence.” When Russian drones entered Polish airspace in September 2025, Warsaw and its NATO allies used multi-million dollar jets to respond to drones that cost thousands and crashed into the Polish countryside. Low-cost kinetic or electronic effectors allow drones to be detected and destroyed at a fraction of the cost.

Europe is gearing up in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s scathing criticism of NATO, European defense spending and the once ironclad alliance. The EU has increased spending and is openly questioning more in-depth military projects.

Europe is investing in defense at record levels

“Europe’s security is more uncertain than it has been for decades,” said Caja Callas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, citing Russian aggression, West Asia, instability in China and a “redefined” alliance with the US, adding that the low-cost interceptor program exemplifies European commitment to its own security.

“To keep our country safe, we must strengthen our hard power. The good news is that we are already investing in defense at record levels. Europe is making strides. But this is not about competing with NATO. It is about strengthening Europe in NATO. A strong Europe strengthens the alliance.” Also the military alliance of 32 countries Mr. Moved by Trump’s second administration. More recently, his repeated threats to annex Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and derogatory comments about his NATO allies’ troops in Afghanistan led to another protest.

Currently, tensions over Greenland are low Despite the coup, infighting has severely reduced the ability of the world’s largest security alliance to deter rivals.