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."
U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, with Tehran responding by launching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases...
Eurasian leaders have gathered in Bishkek for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit focused on security, economic ties and regional...
Russia views NATO’s growing military activity in the Arctic as a direct threat to its national security, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said....
Iran has reached an understanding with Oman on transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, but the waterway will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils its commitments, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Saturday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused U.S. government and Israel-aligned actors of manipulating energy markets to promote the war with Iran.
Russian strikes on the Kyiv region overnight killed 37 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. Zelenskyy added that the Ukrainian capital was under "virtually nonstop attack" from drones.
Eurasian leaders have gathered in Bishkek for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit focused on security, economic ties and regional co-operation, as the bloc marks its 25th anniversary. China's Xi Jinping also hailed the “unprecedented” development in China-Kyrgyzstan relations.
At least 37 people were killed after a Russian drone strike hit an ammunition depot in the Kyiv region, triggering powerful secondary explosions President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, vowing to punish suspected negligence in the second such incident in two months.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the actions of Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Qusra, saying security operations should be handled only by state institutions, including the army and police.
Rescue teams in Nepal, supported by Chinese and Indian experts, worked through the night to reach hundreds of people believed to be trapped inside blocked hydropower project tunnels following last week’s catastrophic Himalayan flood.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 31st of August, covering the latest developments.
Around 20 people are reported missing after flooding struck parts of Grand Canyon National Park in the U.S. state of Arizona, prompting evacuations of people to safety and a large-scale response from park authorities.
Russia views NATO’s growing military activity in the Arctic as a direct threat to its national security, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment