"We are in an arms race," said Dobrindt, who hosted a summit of European counterparts in Munich on Saturday. "We want to rise to that challenge." The interior ministers' meeting was scheduled to discuss migration issues, but dones took over the agenda after multiple drones were recently spotted across Europe, with Munich Airport closed twice in two days over "unconfirmed drone sightings."
"We're really behind when it comes to defending against drones," Defense Minister Boris Pistorius recently admitted. Uncertainty is high after Russian drones invaded the airspace of several NATO countries in recent weeks. Suspected Russian drones have even been supposedly spotted over Germany. On the German television channel ZDF, Pistorius assured viewers that everything was being done "to make up for this shortcoming."
Countries along the European Union's eastern border agreed Friday to prioritize a so-called "drone wall" that can help defend the bloc from future airspace incursions. Defense ministers from 10 EU members met via videoconference to discuss the measures in the wake of repeated airspace violations in recent days affecting Poland, Romania, Estonia and Denmark. Russia is believed to be behind the incursions, although Moscow has denied the allegations.
The September 26 video conference -- convened by EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius and involving several states on NATO's eastern flank, as well as Denmark and Ukraine -- aims to coordinate sensors, jammers and rapid-response rules so that small, cheap unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be detected and neutralized before they threaten European civil aviation or critical bases.
