Brussels – The drone wall will be built. When and how is still to be defined. A list of priorities emerged from the meeting in Helsinki of the European Defence Commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, with the EU’s eastern frontline countries. The former Lithuanian Prime Minister, at a press conference together with the Finnish Defence Minister, Antti Häkkänen, emphasised that “Europe must focus on the implementation of surveillance tools. We are still inadequate in this area. We need to be able to intercept small drones.”
These very aircraft, even as recently as today, have threatened Danish airspace, forcing local authorities to close Aalborg Airport, located in the north of the country. The European response should be a wall of drones which, in the words of the commissioner, should have three elements: “detection capability, interception capability, impact capability.” However, the project still has an uncertain timeline; Kubilius himself mentioned a year, but everything will depend on when this project starts and what its characteristics will be.
BREAKING:
Denmark announces that the Aalborg Air Base of the Danish Air Force and Aalborg Airport have both just been closed after new drone intrusions by unknown drones
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) September 25, 2025
Timeframe to be defined
Currently, not even the CEOs of two leading European defence companies seem to know any more. Jaanus Tamm, of the Estonian surveillance company DefSecIntel, and Sven Kruck, of Germany’s leading drone company Quantum, spoke at a press conference organised by the political consultancy firm of former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
The concern, for Tamm, is not yet knowing when and how: “We have to understand what features this tool must have. For certain elements, implementation takes a few weeks, while for others, it takes several months. On the same wavelength, Kruck: “Defence will have to be multi-role, to make it more economically viable to shoot down a drone. The decision, however, must be on which capabilities to operate.”
The issue is also economic. Poland used missiles worth millions of euros to intercept the 20 or so drones that violated its airspace in early September. In contrast, the drones had production costs in the thousands of euros. This is why Kubilius pointed out that the European Union is working to create tax advantages for those who want to invest in defence. “At the European Council in October, leaders will discuss how to act,” he added. “We are doing our part; in addition to the success of the SAFE loans, we are working on the conclusion of partnership projects between countries that will be able to join together to produce armaments and will benefit from tax breaks.”
The clock, however, is ticking. The former Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance, Anders Rasmussen, is concerned about this: “NATO cannot jeopardise its credibility as a defensive alliance by not intervening. We have underestimated Putin. He is testing our compactness; we cannot afford to have a wait-and-see approach once again.” The advice of Rasmussen, now without an operational role in the Atlantic alliance, is to “shoot down drones entering our airspace to give a clear message to Putin.”
The work of the sherpas
The European machine is moving. Between meetings with leaders, NATO and manufacturers, decisions are now, by Kubilius’ own admission, in the hands of the sherpas: high-level diplomats acting as personal representatives of heads of state or government. There appear to be several possible developments on the table, with a focus on one area or another. It is not yet clear, however, which path will be chosen.
Of course, the concerns of these countries have obvious geographical reasons. Finland shares a 1,300-kilometre border with Russia, and the former Lithuanian premier recalled that “Lithuania also has a large part of its border shared with Russia and Belarus (about 1,000 kilometres, ed).”
Great meeting with Finnish Defence Minister @anttihakkanen as we prepared for the important ministerial meeting here in Helsinki to discuss the Eastern Flank Watch—how to move ahead at full speed and its key elements, including the #DroneWall pic.twitter.com/gj6xRvswQ4
– Andrius Kubilius (@KubiliusA) September 26, 2025
Ukrainian Efficiency
By a truly cursed turn of fate, those who could lend a big hand in developing this project are the Ukrainians. “We have to learn a lot from Ukraine,” Kubilius continues, “not only because of the technology they have at their disposal but because of their ability to create an ecosystem. The Ukrainians have an incredible interconnection between those who produce the defence systems, those who use them, and those who develop the technological software and analyse their effectiveness. This spiral always leads them to improve.” An efficiency stimulated by the need to defend themselves against the Russian invader.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
