Question wall: The EU's anti-drone project poses a direct threat to Russia
On September 26, the defense ministers of nine EU member states agreed on the need to implement the Wall of Drones project. It involves the creation of an anti-drone line along the eastern border of the EU. Following the consultations, the European Commissioner for Defense, Andrius Kubilius, said that now work will be carried out on the technical roadmap of the project. At the same time, a meeting of the heads of the NATO general staffs was held in Riga, where the same issue was discussed. The creation of such a line of defense poses a direct threat to Russia's security, Senator of the Federation Council Vladimir Dzhabarov told Izvestia. Experts believe that Russia has a military response to Europe's new initiative.
EU defense ministers approve "drone wall"
Europe continues to develop a project to create a multi-level neural network of fortifications on the eastern flank of the European Union. A videoconference was held today at the level of defense ministers of the EU's eastern flank. It was also attended by representatives of the European Commission and Ukraine. Following the talks, European Commissioner for Defense Andrius Kubilius said that the participants agreed on the need for such a project. Now the countries are moving to the practical phase and speeding up the project. Kubilius also stated that he intends to seek political support for the October EU summit.
The meeting brought together Bulgaria, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Finland and Estonia. According to some reports, Hungary could also participate in it. Despite the name "drone wall", the project is not a wall in the classical sense of the word. It involves the creation of a network that will include detection and electronic warfare equipment, interceptors, as well as a system for the general exchange of data between the countries of the alliance.
The drone walls project poses a direct threat to Russia, Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, told Izvestia.
— Of course, he does. The fact is that Europe seems to have caught the virus of war and cannot recover in any way. There has not been such aggressive pressure from Europe for a long time," he said, answering a question about the threat of such a project to Moscow.
Jabarov stressed that such a military infrastructure near the borders of Russia is a provocation.
— In fact, the slightest oversight, confusion, or that drones may fly to the wrong place. It's a risk. I think an incident may happen sooner or later. Then don't let them take offense at Russia, don't call us aggressors, don't let them provoke us," the senator added.
The European project is quite ambitious, but the mechanics of its implementation are in serious question. The countries that participate in it do not yet have a common understanding of how to create such a "wall" and how long it will be. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the line could stretch to the Black Sea through Romania and Bulgaria. According to Western experts, financing can be provided under the SAFE (Security Action for Europe) credit platform, which will provide up to €150 billion. Previously, Izvestia calculated the approximate cost of creating such a line of fortifications. So, the "drone wall" can cost European countries €3-7 billion.
In parallel, the annual visiting conference of the NATO Military Committee at the level of the Chiefs of Staff began in Riga today. It will discuss the eastern flank of the alliance, air defense systems and the connection with the developments of the REPMUS exercises, during which unmanned systems were tested. The "drone wall" was also one of the topics of the meeting.
What is the "drone wall" for?
Talks about a "drone wall" have resumed after a series of drone incidents in NATO countries. For example, on the night of September 10, about two dozen UAVs violated Polish airspace. Warsaw claimed that the drones were Russian. The charges were rejected in Moscow.
Unknown drones have also been spotted in Denmark. So, on the night of September 24, Copenhagen Airport completely stopped work for four hours due to several large UAVs nearby. On the night of September 25, the Aalborg Airport was temporarily suspended. The country's authorities called the incidents a "hybrid attack." There are no official direct accusations against Russia, but some media outlets are already pointing to Russia.
This series of cases became the trigger for the discussion of the "drone wall" at the EU ministerial level and a focus topic at the NATO meeting in Riga. In both cases, this plays into the hands of the European bureaucracy. New drone incidents — new military budgets.
The implementation of such a project to create a defense line is most likely impossible, Dmitry Stefanovich, a researcher at the IMEMO RAS Center for International Security, told Izvestia.
According to him, European countries will spend most of their time discussing whose radars will be deployed along the defense line, who will pay for it and at whose industrial facilities it will be mastered. Moreover, without Germany, France and other major European economies, this project is impossible in principle.
The "Drone wall" can be used for offensive purposes.
The military infrastructure that the Europeans are going to create can work both for defense and for the offensive, Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, military analyst, said in a conversation with Izvestia.
One of the goals of the countries implementing this project is to create radar stations capable of monitoring the low and medium altitudes at which drones fly. Anti-aircraft missile systems and interceptor drones are also needed to stop the threat of drones, the expert added.
— It is clear that any drone from an interceptor very quickly turns into a means of striking, therefore, this is the approach of the NATO military infrastructure directly to the Russian borders, including on the territory of those countries where this had not happened before, — said Korotchenko.
Modern warfare is evolving rapidly, which forces states to be effective in defending themselves against any threats, MEP Milan Mazurek told Izvestia, commenting on the "drone wall."
"At the same time, such efforts should not turn into reckless or unnecessary provocations, whether against Russia or any other country," he stressed.
To respond to the creation of such a "wall," Russia has long-range interception and aerospace defense systems, Korotchenko said. To counter the line of NATO countries, it is possible to use the S-400, S-300V4, Pantsir-S, TOR-M2 and other weapons systems.
But there is no air defense system that would be absolutely invulnerable, so the tasks that NATO sets for itself are ambitious, but not calculated from a military point of view, the expert believes.
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