Romania could partner Ukraine to make drones under EU-funded defence scheme

Romania is looking to collaborate with Ukraine on developing drones through a new European Union defence funding initiative. However, it will take at least seven years before the country has a multi-layered air defence system, according to a government source.

Sharing a 650 km (400 miles) land border with Ukraine, Romania has experienced more than 20 incidents over the past two years, where drones have breached its airspace or fragments have fallen onto its territory. This has occurred since Russia began attacking Ukraine's ports along the Danube, just across from Romania.

Tensions have been rising along Europe's eastern border, after Estonia accused Moscow of sending three fighter jets into its airspace and Denmark closing airports due to suspected drones. This came a week after NATO jets intercepted Russian drones in Polish airspace. Romania also narrowly avoided shooting down a drone.

"We need more air defences, but nobody has them," a Romanian defence source told Reuters.

"For the time being, defence will be asymmetrical, with enormous anti-aircraft costs that could only be borne at the NATO level."

The source explained that Romania has been in discussions with Ukraine, whose drone technology has been “battle-tested on a large scale,” to manufacture drones in a project funded by the EU's 'SAFE' rearmament initiative.

Romania has €16.6 billion ($19.4 billion) allocated under the Security Action For Europe (SAFE) initiative, which Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan stated would support military acquisitions amounting to roughly 1% of national output annually for five years.

Romania's air defences currently consist of F-16 fighter jets, Patriot systems, Lockheed Martin's HIMARS rocket launchers, short-range South Korean Chiron surface-to-air missiles, and German Gepard anti-aircraft guns.

The latter two options are Romania’s most cost-effective for drone defence at present, the source said.

Gepards are deployed near populated areas along the Ukrainian border, but covering the entire border and maintaining these systems would be financially unfeasible.

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