Europe's five largest defence powers are teaming up on a multi-million-euro project to bring low-cost air-defence systems such as autonomous drones or missiles into production within 12 months, ministers meeting in Krakow, Poland, said on Friday (20 February).
The war in Ukraine has shown how autonomous interceptor drones can provide an effective alternative to costly air-defence missiles and Kyiv's European allies are keen to learn from its experience.
The European Group of Five Defence Ministers brings together top military spenders France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Britain.
The ministers met as European leaders seek to boost defence capabilities amid growing doubts about Washington's commitment to protecting the continent.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Friday that a European version of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance of English-speaking countries was being considered as a way to respond more effectively to threats posed by Russia.
Speaking at the meeting in Krakow alongside his counterparts from Poland, France, Britain and Italy, Pistorius said discussions were ongoing.
"What can we do next? One idea could be to consider a joint tanker fleet or multi-domain task force, or even a European version of Five Eyes," he said.
"It's a multi-million pound, multi-million euro commitment ... to step up this technology," Britain's Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard said.
"We're really hopeful that this will produce an effector that... will be in production within 12 months."
In military terminology, “effectors” are the components of a system that produce a physical effect, while “autonomous platforms” are unmanned systems capable of independent decision-making.
The 'Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms' initiative, known as LEAP, focuses on developing advanced low-cost air-defence systems, including autonomous drones and missiles.
The first project is expected to be delivered by 2027, the UK government said in a separate statement.
"We have just signed a very important commitment on the joint development of drone-based strike capabilities, low-cost, joint production, and joint procurement of low-cost drone effectors and payloads," Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
"This is the challenge of our times - technologies are changing... and we must respond very quickly."
Foreign ministers meeting in Istanbul on Friday warned that renewed military strikes on Iran could deepen the regional conflict, urging diplomatic ...
Georgia’s Constitutional Court has extended hearings in a case seeking to ban five opposition parties, with proceedings now set to continue u...
Pakistan and the European Union have agreed to step up counterterrorism cooperation as security concerns over Afghanistan grow and tensions between...
Saudi Aramco has ordered staff to evacuate its headquarters amid escalating Houthi attacks on the kingdom. Two people were killed in an attack on Dammam airport, while Iran's IRGC Navy claimed strikes on seven vessels and warned the U.S. of a wider response.
Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight killed at least two people and injured 15 others, including two children, Ukrainian authorities said. Meanwhile, Russia said it had intercepted the vast majority of 630 Ukrainian drones launched towards Moscow.
Russia is willing in principle to resume peace talks with Ukraine and the United States in November, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said after President Vladimir Putin met U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg.
Israeli military bulldozers have begun demolishing buildings in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, 23 October, following armed clashes with Palestinians that left two Israeli soldiers dead, according to the Israeli military.
Super typhoon Champi is set to batter Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture from Friday (23 October), bringing violent winds, torrential rain and waves up to 11 metres high, as airlines cancel flights and organisers scrap a major festival.
Armenian authorities have detained 10 more people in a vote-buying investigation involving the opposition Strong Armenia party, just two days before local elections in the northern town of Stepanavan.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met India’s Minister of External Affairs in Baku for talks on strengthening bilateral relations, with a focus on trade, investment, energy and technology.
Israeli military bulldozers have begun demolishing buildings in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, 23 October, following armed clashes with Palestinians that left two Israeli soldiers dead, according to the Israeli military.
Greece’s parliament has passed a bill banning under-15s from using social media from 1 January 2027, as the country steps up efforts to protect children online. The new law will require platforms to enforce age restrictions.
France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday that 70,000 security forces would be mobilised throughout the country to keep order on Saturday, adding there have been calls for looting and violence from the ultra-left.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment