Denmark has joined Estonia, Latvia. Finland, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria in the project to build a ‘drone wall’ alongside the Eastern flank.
The European Commission has reaffirmed its intention to build a drone defence system along the bloc’s eastern flank to deter Russia from violating common airspace and respond rapidly to any such incursions.
In less than one month, Russian aircraft have violated the airspace of three member states – Poland, Romania and Estonia – putting the continent on high alert. The acts coincide with intensifying barrages on Ukrainian civilians.
On Monday, two to three large drones were spotted at Copenhagen Airport, prompting a shutdown in operations for nearly four hours. The airport later reopened but warned of delays and cancelled departures. Norway’s Oslo Airport was also disrupted.
Police said they refrained from shooting down the aircraft because the risk was too great, given the airport was at full capacity and planes were stationed near fuel depots.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the incident “the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date” and said she could not rule out Russian involvement.
On Tuesday, the Commission built on the events to call for the drone wall, a novel initiative first unveiled by President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the EU speech.
“For those who still doubted the need to have a drone wall in the European Union, well, here we get another example of how important it is,” said Thomas Regnier, the Commission’s spokesperson for defence policy.
Hellbound and Down 