Europe has changed its approach to modern military technology after conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. Today’s conflicts call for affordable, AI-driven equipment produced in mass, rather than expensive and sophisticated tools.
The Commission’s 2025 roadmap on defense readiness sets unmanned aerial systems, also known as drones, as a key part of its defense strategy for 2030.
The Commission’s 2026 action plan on drone security and counter-drones focuses on a new approach to drone production through industrial scale-up and rapid production of counter-drone technologies.
The objective is to create a competitive European drone market, strengthen EU defense readiness, and enhance threat detection capabilities.
The Commission will establish an industrial forum on drones and counter-drones to facilitate dialogue between government and industry on mass production, as well as a European center of excellence on counter-drones by 2027 to certify systems and accelerate innovation.
As part of the action plan, the European Defense Against Drones Initiative (EDDI) prevents airspace violations and threats to critical infrastructure posed by drones.
EDDI is an interoperable multi-layer system that detects, tracks, and neutralizes malicious drone attacks using AI-based detection and counter-drone technologies. It is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2027.
The Commission will engage in discussions with the Council and Parliament on the proposed measures.
It also proposed appointing national coordinators for drone security to oversee plan implementation.
If you want to learn more about the EU’s projects to enhance hybrid threat detection capabilities, ask Euronews’ chatbot!
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