Romania and Ukraine hope to quickly set up a joint production of defensive drones for domestic, EU, and NATO use, foreign minister Oana Toiu said during an interview with Reuters. The initiative, announced earlier this month, is even more needed considering the incursions made by Russian drones or jets in NATO airspace in recent weeks, according to the Romanian official.
“We believe it is strategic for the eastern flank to be better protected, especially in air defence. So what we are doing in that direction is to create the partnerships needed, for example, with Ukraine to build defensive drones for the future,” minister Toiu said.
Her statements were made at the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly that ended on Monday, September 29.
Romania’s drone-making initiative comes as Ukraine relaxed restrictions on exporting its weapons, which it has used and honed on the battlefield against Russia, according to statements made by Ukrainian president Volodmyr Zelenskiy at the same gathering.
The European Union has backed the idea of creating a “drone wall” to shield the region. The idea, promoted by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, would see the creation of a detection and response network on the eastern flank. This would give EU members the capability to detect and destroy suspicious drones.
This initiative brought together ten member states: Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Finland, with the participation of Ukraine.
The Commission has not yet produced a detailed plan, leaving open questions about the cost. But NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised the idea.
“We cannot spend millions of euros or dollars on missiles to take out drones, which only cost a couple of thousand dollars,” Rutte said, after the incident in Poland last month.
On September 9, several Russian drones entered Polish airspace. The incident was followed by similar incursions in Romania on September 13 and Estonia later the same month.
Drones were also recently spotted over five Danish airports, but also in France, Germany, and Norway.
During the same interview, Toiu also said that Romania had approved an increased US troop presence on its territory to support Middle East refuelling operations, though she declined to provide numbers.
(Photo source: Oana Țoiu on Facebook)
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