This article was automatically translated from the original Turkish version.
In September of last year, unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles were detected entering the airspace of European states without authorization. In the following days, NATO officials stated that the origin of the drones could not be determined, but that Russia was likely behind these violations. The countries whose airspace was breached include Poland, Denmark, Romania, and Estonia, whose officials claimed the drones were dispatched by Russia.
According to European states, Russia has been intermittently injecting drones purchased from Iran into European airspace since July, thereby violating their airspace; these Iranian-origin drones are alleged to be of the Shahed-136 kamikaze drone type. It was also claimed that Russia continues to test its own domestically developed kamikaze drones.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, however, dismissed recent allegations implicating Russia in the appearance of drones over European airports as “baseless.”
Shahed-136 drone (AA)
In response to the incidents, NATO fighter jets were immediately scrambled, and the airport in Copenhagen was temporarily closed as a precaution. After lengthy discussions, the European Commission proposed the long-discussed concept of a “Drone Wall.” In light of these developments, ten EU member states and Ukraine convened a meeting to discuss the Drone Wall proposal. The participating countries include Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, and Ukraine. Meanwhile, Denmark announced it had temporarily banned all commercial drone flights as of 29 September.
According to some European officials, the breaches of airspace and the inability to prevent them have exposed weaknesses in European air defense. Estonian Member of the European Parliament Riho Terras expressed concern over the European Union’s preparedness level:
“Europe’s peacetime drone defense is alarmingly inadequate. Countries on the eastern flank lack the appropriate low-cost tools to respond to low-cost provocations. We cannot afford to counter cheap drones with expensive missiles or jets.”[1]
According to Riho Terras, existing European defense systems are highly expensive and were designed to counter threats from the Cold War era. This makes any operational use of these systems extremely costly. The current defense systems in Europe are equipped to respond to potential missile attacks; however, the kamikaze drones used by Russia are produced at very low cost, allowing Russia to conduct these operations at minimal expense. Therefore, using Europe’s expensive defense systems against cheaper drone attacks is not cost-effective in terms of price-to-performance ratio.
European states are seeking affordable air defense solutions to counter the problem of drones breaching their airspace. Among the proposed solutions are laser weapons, electromagnetic cannons, jamming systems, and drone-hunting drones. Although a meeting on affordable air defense was recently held in Copenhagen, the issue has not yet been fully resolved. One of the reasons for the difficulty is the lack of an integrated “Drone Wall” plan covering the entire European continent. Achieving a unified European air defense against Russian drones will be possible only after the European Union approves its drone defense plan. According to the proposed plan, if a common “drone defense plan” is signed across the European Union, unauthorized drone incursions into EU member states’ airspace will be prevented.
Flag of the European Union (PXHere)
Several key companies have been identified to help realize the Drone Wall concept, one of which is the drone company Quantum Systems.
Quantum Systems: A German-based company active since 2015, it develops both the hardware and software of its drones in-house.
What is the solution?
Quantum Systems