Recent drone sightings over NATO countries' airspace have highlighted Ukraine's role as Europe's leading expert in drone warfare and handling of drone incursions. Countries like Poland and Denmark, whose airspaces were breached by drones in the past few weeks, have expressed desire to collaborate with Kyiv for handling these incursions and launching joint anti-drone training programs
On September 18, Poland announced it was launching a joint military training and manufacturing initiative to tap into Ukraine's experience and expertise in drones, just a week after its airspace was violated by around twenty Russian drones. The incident, along with violation of other NATO countries' airspace exposed NATO's vulnerability in face of Russian incursions. Polish and NATO aircrafts downed Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that he and Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who was visiting Kyiv, signed an agreement to form a joint task force focused on uncrewed systems.
Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński stated in Warsaw on September 18 that there had been a surge in attempted incursions by Belarusian and Russian drones into Polish airspace the night before. Although none of the drones successfully crossed the border, he emphasized that the border will remain closed until Poland can be confident that no additional provocations will occur.
Other NATO members - Romania, Estonia, Denmark and Norway have also reported illegal drone and aircraft crossing into airspace in the past weeks. The incidents raised concerns over NATO's safety and the alliance's readiness to respond to such provocations.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed Copenhagen's desire to benefit from Ukraine's experience with drones.
“The only expert right now in the world when it comes to anti-drone capacities is, unfortunately, Ukraine, because they are fighting the Russian drones almost every day,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said while hosting the summit of the European Political Community (EPC) in Copenhagen on October 2.
“We need to take all the experiences, all the new technology, all the innovation from Ukraine, and to put it in our own rearming,” Frederiksen said. The security summit was attended by leaders of 50 European countries, including the German Armed Forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed his willingness to provide guidance, particularly to Denmark, as he arrived at the EPC summit, which was centered on supporting Ukraine, addressing Europe's security challenges, and exploring ways to enhance the continent’s overall safety.
The EPC summit comes on the heels of a meeting held on October 1 in Copenhagen by the European Union’s 27 leaders, where they discussed strengthening the protection of European airspace - including a proposal to create a so-called “drone wall.” The European Political Community was pushed by French President Emmanuel Macron in the wake of Ukraine's full-fledged invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to encourage dialogue and collaboration among European nations beyond the EU’s boundaries, without the formality of official state visits.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine over three years ago, drones have become a pivotal tool for both offense and defense on the battlefield, reshaping modern warfare and prompting nations to accelerate their adoption of this advancing technology. By 2024, Ukraine has ramped its drone production to 1.7 million units with monthly production reportedly surging to 20,000 per month.
