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EU plans priority anti-drone shield on eastern flank, paper says

16.10.2025 12:00
The European Commission plans to make an anti-drone shield along the EU’s eastern flank a flagship defense project, with initial operations targeted by the end of next year, Gazeta Wyborcza reported, citing a Commission document.
Following a Sept. 9 Russian drone raid on Poland, the anti-drone barrier has been given priority status to shield the Union from such threats, Gazeta Wyborcza reported.
Following a Sept. 9 Russian drone raid on Poland, the anti-drone barrier has been given priority status to shield the Union from such threats, Gazeta Wyborcza reported.Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak

The newspaper said it had seen a draft titled “Keep the Peace. A Roadmap for Defense Readiness to 2030,” a “major EU armaments investment plan” that the Commission is due to present on Oct. 16.

According to the report, the document urges that member states’ armed forces be able to anticipate defense crises — including high-intensity warfare — and prepare for and respond to them.

It calls for developing capabilities needed for modern combat, tailored to future battlefields as the character of warfare evolves.

Projects to protect NATO’s eastern flank — largely the EU’s frontier with Russia and Belarus — would receive priority, the paper said.

The plan also envisages safeguarding Baltic and Black Sea shipping, threatened in part by Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” and protecting the airspace and land borders of countries neighboring Russia and Belarus.

Following a Sept. 9 Russian drone raid on Poland, the anti-drone barrier has been given priority status to shield the Union from such threats, Gazeta Wyborcza reported.

The first tenders for anti-drone systems are slated for early 2026, with the barrier expected to reach initial operational readiness by the end of next year, the paper said.

(jh)

Source: PAP, Gazeta Wyborcza