Europe Is Facing Up to a Painful Vulnerability to Drone Warfare

Article content

The incident prompted a raft of familiar responses across the region. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said it “crossed yet another red line.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, posting on X, said the incursion “once again underscores the need for strong NATO posture on the Eastern flank.”

Article content

“We are ready to defend every inch of Allied territory,” Merz wrote. 

Article content

That’s becoming a challenge. Russia and Ukraine have both dialed up technological know-how on drones, with Kyiv escalating strikes on Russian energy assets in the Baltic region. That’s included a larger number of Ukrainian drones crossing into Baltic airspace, exposing a gap and prompting von der Leyen this week to call for a NATO-coordinated assessment of anti-drone and early-warning systems in the region. 

Article content

The low altitude of most of the warring parties’ drones means they can vanish from traditional radars. Aerial vehicles can be aloft in EU airspace for some time before being detected. Capital cities including Helsinki and Vilnius have had to contend with the incidents. 

Article content

Conventional defenses, including scrambling jets and deploying air-defense missiles, are far too cumbersome to neutralize such a low-cost threat. Debris and stray missiles also pose a threat to civilian populations, leaders have stressed. 

Article content

Article content

Progress toward modern anti-drone detection and weapons has been slow, partly because of the disparity between long procurement processes and rapidly evolving technology, rendering some new systems outdated, experts have said. 

Article content

Iulia Joja, director of the Black Sea program of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, said the ultimate issue for NATO leaders is credibility. 

Article content

“If Russian drones can repeatedly enter Romanian airspace, reach populated areas, and still avoid interception, citizens will inevitably ask whether NATO’s security guarantees are operational in practice or primarily declarative in nature,” Joja told Bloomberg. 

Article content

Frontline countries have begun purchasing radar systems, deploying acoustic sensors and radio-frequency detection equipment, as well as testing interceptor drones, remotely controlled guns and low-cost miniature missiles. 

Article content

The US has supplied Romania’s military with a Merops counter-drone system. Maxim, the general who briefed on the incursion Friday, said the system is operational but has yet to be integrated into the country’s protection mechanism — even though it would not have been deployable in the incident in Galati. 

Article content

Article content

Latvia is planning to send counter-drone crews to the border, while laws in Estonia and Lithuania are being changed to allow operators of critical infrastructure such as power plants to shoot down and jam drones. Poland said it’s building the most “integrated, intelligent anti-drone system” in Europe. 

Article content

Matti Sarasmaa, the permanent secretary of Finland’s Interior Ministry, pointed to the risk of more frequent drone deployment from Russia as a means to protect its interests in border regions. Finland’s 1,300-kilometer (800-mile) border with Russia is by far the biggest in the EU. 

Article content

“If Russia expands its countermeasures and begins intercepting drones outside its own territory, this is a potential threat that has been identified in Finland with great seriousness,” Sarasmaa said. “As the war drags on and expands, the likelihood of such a scenario increases.”

Article content

—With assistance from Aaron Eglitis, Milda Seputyte, Slav Okov and Kirsi Heikel.

Article content