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What is the drone wall?

The idea for a drone wall in Europe was first proposed in 2024, when Baltic countries, joined by Poland and Finland, presented the concept to the European Commission. The countries applied for funding from an EU civilian border management fund, with the aim of utilizing drones and sensors to counter people smuggling, but the project initially failed to generate interest at the European level. However, following a presentation in April by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov to Ursula von der Leyen, detailing Ukraine’s drone defense tactics against Russia, the concept shifted towards a more defense-centric approach. The Russian incursion into Polish airspace on September 9 underscored how unprepared EU countries remain to confront the growing threat of drone swarms, further intensifying the sense of urgency. In response to the incursion, NATO deployed F-35 and F-16 fighter jets, helicopters, and a Patriot air defense system (assets collectively worth billions of euros) to counter Russian Gerbera drones, derived from Iranian Shahed models and manufactured at a drastically lower cost than the advanced systems used to intercept them.

Since von der Leyen announced the concept of a drone wall in her State of the Union address of September 10 the project has changed significantly again in both branding and scale. The idea of a "wall" has drawn criticism from French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who questioned its effectiveness in securing a 3,000-kilometer border and expressed skepticism about the very definition of a "wall" at the Meeting of the European Political Community in Copenhagen, on October 2. Addressing the claims, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk — a supporter of the initiative — acknowledged that a drone “wall” on the country’s border would not eliminate all threats. Instead, he emphasized the importance of seeking methods that can maximize security, even if they fall short of offering absolute guarantees. Nevertheless, Brussels appears to have taken note of the debate over the project’s name, opting to rebrand it as the “Drone Defense Initiative” in its defense policy roadmap, presented on October 16. Another change concerned the scale of the project. Since the drone wall would have to be funded with EU money, southern European countries, such as Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis, openly said during the Copenhagen meeting of EU leaders that European defense projects should benefit the whole bloc, not just its Eastern flank, sparking controversy. Thus, in an effort to gain broader support, the EU Commission has expanded the original concept from an integrated thicket of sensors, jamming systems, and weapons along the eastern border into a continent-wide web of anti-drone systems.

While the project is at the center of a power struggle, with France and Germany, both accustomed to managing large defense procurement initiatives independently, reluctant to cede power to the Commission, and although details about its financing and integration into NATO military plans remain unclear at the moment, speculations regarding the capabilities it would employ are emerging. Drawing on lessons from Ukraine, the sensors for the project would likely include cameras, acoustic systems that can detect drone engine noise, specialist radars and radio-frequency detectors. What is needed is a layered system that is able to detect, classify, engage and eliminate the target. Weapons to counter any attack would include a mix of machine guns and cannons, rockets, missiles and interceptor drones – which can slam into enemy drones or explode close to them – as well as electronic jamming systems and lasers. Artificial Intelligence is already being used to help identify and target incoming drones and its use in the field is expected to grow. However, training operators is also vital. In fact, top Ukrainian interceptor pilots have succeeded because of their experience more than reliance on automated guidance systems.

Still, none of these capabilities are expected to solve the problem of drone incursions indefinitely. A next-generation drone defense system of the kind the EU envisions must be able to evolve dynamically over time, in response to rapid developments, not just in technology, but also in enemy strategy and tactics.

How can Ukraine help?

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is offering "to Poland and all our partners to build a joint, truly reliable shield against Russian aerial threats," drawing on Ukraine's battlefield experience, as EU leaders met in Denmark to discuss European defense. With Ukraine now being able to down around 90% of incoming Russian drones, even on days when massive barrages happen, Kyiv holds key insights and capabilities that could help the EU in building its drone wall.

As noted, the first area in which Ukraine retains an edge concerns the operational knowledge it has gained directly from combat. One key aspect of knowledge transfer that would benefit Western forces is the operationalization of counter-drone systems, both at a tactical and higher-command level. That means integrating counter-drone capabilities into existing military units, as some countries have already begun doing, and spreading the responsibility to engage drones throughout the force. Following drone incursions last month, both Poland and Denmark opted to call in Ukrainian experts to help them train their troops better in responding to these incidents. According to Zelenskyy, the outcomes of the Danish mission would serve as the foundation for broader cooperation with other European countries on drone defense.

The second area where Kyiv could aid the EU has to do with the export of its drone units. Addressing the UN General Assembly in September, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine will begin exporting domestically produced weapons, partially lifting a ban imposed when Kyiv declared martial law at the start of the war. Ukrainian arms producers have been urging Zelenskyy for months to lift the restrictions on the sale of domestically produced military-grade equipment, particularly drones, as a means to generate additional revenue to reinvest in production capabilities. In an interview with the Ukrainian government-run United24 media, a representative from Brave1, Ukraine’s government-backed defense technology cluster, highlighted naval drones, drone navigation software technologies, turrets, and unmanned ground vehicles as export-ready classes of weapons. Another technology identified for potential export entails communication systems for drones, resilient in GPS-denied environments.

The third way Ukraine can assist the EU in building its drone wall is through increased European investment in Ukraine’s drone sector and the establishment of co-production agreements with EU countries. According to Euronews, Ukraine is now producing over 4 million drones annually, but has the potential to double that number with sufficient funding. The EU recently committed to spending a total of €2 billion on drones with Ukraine, a potential win-win situation that would allow the war-torn country to scale up its manufacturing and the bloc to benefit from the technology. Their collaboration could also entail co-developing new systems with Ukrainian engineers or investing in them at the design stage. Things are already moving in that direction. In late September, Romania unveiled ambitious plans to manufacture drones in partnership with Ukraine for domestic use and for potential export to NATO allies. Denmark and Ukraine also signed an agreement on October 6 that will allow Ukrainian defense firms to set up joint production in the Nordic nation, a move that is meant to include technology exchange as a core component.

Finally, advanced Ukrainian drone technologies and technical ingenuity could play a crucial role in realizing the EU’s Drone Defense Initiative. Ukraine’s innovations in drones, machine learning, AI and battle management have gained worldwide recognition and may prove essential in overcoming the greatest challenge to building an effective drone wall: integrating diverse systems. Indeed, the creation of a software layer capable of managing inputs from numerous different systems and turn them into one coherent defense network, secure from outside tampering, is what distinguishes a true “wall” from “scattered bricks”, writes data architect Daniel Connery. Experts have pointed to Ukrainian networked battlespace systems like Virazh and Delta as potential models to guide European efforts forward.

Conclusion

Ukraine possesses the technology, knowledge and capabilities necessary to contribute to the construction of the EU’s drone wall. However, to further strengthen European security, incentives related to joint market opportunities and the protection of intellectual property need to be scaled up in order to allow European companies to access Ukrainian performance data gained from combat engagements, which could be hugely valuable for understanding the way counter-drone systems operate on the battlefield and for later refining their own technologies accordingly.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

- European Commission. (2025, September 10). 2025 State of the Union Address by President von der Leyen. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_25_2053

- Gosselin-Malo, E. (2025, October 15). Ukraine-made drones, navigation software primed for first exports. C4ISRNET. https://www.c4isrnet.com/global/europe/2025/10/15/ukraine-made-drones-navigation-software-primed-for-first-exports/

- Gosselin-Malo, E. (2025, October 9). Combat mass and speed: Europe moves to unlock Ukraine’s drone insights. Defense News. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2025/10/09/combat-mass-and-speed-europe-moves-to-unlock-ukraines-drone-insights/

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- Kossov, I. (2025, September 19). From shared threats to shared tech—EU needs Ukraine’s secrets to power its “drone wall”.Euromaidan Press. https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/09/19/ukraines-diy-secrets-could-power-europes-anti-russia-drone-wall/

- Kossov, I. (2025, September 23). Ukraine already built Europe’s “drone wall”—here’s how it actually works. Euromaidan Press. https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/09/23/if-the-eu-builds-its-drone-wall-how-might-it-actually-look/

- Lunday, C., Kayali, L., Barigazzi, J. (2025, October 3). Von der Leyen’s ‘drone wall’ plan crashes into EU reality. Politico. https://www.politico.eu/article/ursula-von-der-leyen-drone-wall-plan-crash-eu-reality/

- Myronyshena, T., Brzozowski, A. (2025, October 2). Europe split on 'drone wall' project, plan to battle Russia’s attacks remains elusive.The Kyiv Independent. https://kyivindependent.com/europe-split-on-drone-wall-project-plan-to-battle-russias-attacks-remains-elusive/

- Tiday, A. (2025, October 16). Brussels unveils its plan for defence 'independence' - in production only. Euronews. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/10/16/brussels-unveils-its-plan-for-defence-independence-in-production-only

- Vakulina, S. (2025, October 2). Defending the skies: How can Ukraine help Europe build its drone wall? Euronews. https://www.euronews.com/2025/10/02/defending-the-skies-how-can-ukraine-help-europe-build-its-drone-wall

- Vasques, E., Tidey, A. (2025, October 15). EU plans functional 'drone wall' against Russia by end of 2027, leak shows.Euronews. https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/10/15/eu-plans-functional-drone-wall-against-russia-by-end-of-2027-leak-shows