Five of Europe’s leading military nations on Friday unveiled a joint initiative to rapidly develop low-cost drones, reflecting how the war in Ukraine has transformed modern combat through the widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles.
Defence ministers and senior officials from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland stated that the new Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms (LEAP) program is designed to enhance collective security within NATO while deepening European defence cooperation.
The extensive deployment of drones since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago has reshaped battlefield dynamics and exposed weaknesses in traditional air defence systems. With drones now operating both along the front lines and far behind them, countries are being forced to rethink their defensive strategies.
Using high-value missiles to intercept relatively inexpensive drones has proven economically unsustainable, creating an urgent need for more affordable counter-drone solutions.
Speaking at a press conference, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the initiative aims to “quickly and cost-effectively develop innovative systems, particularly for drone defence, and to scale up mass production just as swiftly.”
UK defence industry minister Luke Pollard noted that each participating country has pledged multi-million-dollar investments to support the development of technologies required to begin manufacturing components of the system within a year.
The ministers also agreed to take on greater responsibility for Europe’s security by advancing efforts toward a stronger European pillar within NATO.
At last year’s NATO summit in The Hague, members committed—amid pressure from the United States—to increase defence spending to five percent of GDP by 2025, significantly higher than the earlier two percent benchmark.
Poland, NATO’s largest eastern flank member bordering Russia and Belarus, remains the alliance’s top defence spender relative to GDP, allocating 4.48 percent to defence last year.
