Bae, Saab and Rheinmetall welcome European drone wall plans

The defense giant welcomed Europe’s push to establish drone walls on the eastern side of the region, saying flagship policies will help combat the rapidly growing security challenges.

Dozens of political leaders were convened in Copenhagen, Denmark on Wednesday to break the way the European Union’s defenses can be strengthened, and perhaps most importantly, how these projects are funded and run.

Saab, a Swedish defense manufacturer, welcomed initiatives designed to strengthen Europe’s defence capabilities, adding that it would be “happy” to discuss how the defense industry could contribute to the proposed drone wall.

“It is clear that the drone threat is rapidly increasing in civil and military contexts, and that cooperative efforts in Europe can effectively meet this threat,” Mattias Rådström, head of media relations at Saab, told CNBC via email.

The momentum behind the concept of multi-layer drone walls on the eastern side of Europe has been building up in recent weeks.

Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania – members of the EU and NATO in the northern and eastern European countries near Russia – have recently reported invasions of airspace that are said to include Russian jets and drones.

Meanwhile, Denmark and Norway have also reported unidentified drones in recent airspace, with the incident leading to significant disruptions at airports and air traffic.

Russia denied the drone’s provocation against its European neighbors, describing it as “a baseless accusation.”

Anyway, the Airspace intrusion encouraged calls from several EU member states and built drone walls.

In early September, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU must “hear the calls of our Baltic friends and build drone walls.” She described prospects as “a bedrock of trustworthy defence.”

British defense contractors BAE Systemdrone portfolios have seen them grow rapidly in recent years in terms of scale, power and functionality. It said it already provides the “backbone” of the European Air Force through the role of the NATO air policy of typhoons.

“We are ready to further support the initiatives and requirements of our NATO allies and partners,” a BAE Systems spokesperson told CNBC in an email.

German weapons manufacturers rheinmetallwhich is why the EU Summit said it will come when there is already a “high level of interest” in both the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and counter-UAS drone defense.

“Drones often fly slowly and very low, making them relatively easy to combat,” a spokesperson for Rheinmetall told CNBC in an email.

“The challenge lies in defending small drones (mini and microdrones) and swarm attacks. Effective drone defense is the only cost-effective measure, so we need to combine some measures that allow cannon-based drone defense to take the central stage in our view,” they added.

Within this context, cannon-based drone defense systems are the “ideal means” to protect drones at close range in terms of cost benefits, efficiency and reliability, a spokesperson for Rheinmetall said.

As EU leaders were convened on Wednesday, the Danish Ministry of Defense said many European countries have contributed to anti-drone equipment, expertise and personnel to strengthen the country’s defense against drones this week.

Ukraine, an expert in drone warfare after a three-year war with Russia, lends Denmark anti-drone expertise.

It’s not just the established defence giants who closely monitor the outlook for the drone walls on the eastern side of Europe.

Jens Holzapfel, business director for the Swedish Defense Drone Company Nordic Air Defense (NAD), also welcomed what he described as a “bold and ambitious” plan.

“I think that’s very important. All investment in drone defense is very necessary, and of course it’s very enjoyable to see European leaders unite around a general perception of the threat,” Holzapfel told CNBC over a video call.

However, the push to develop drone walls has raised some concerns. Nad’s Holzapfel cited the name itself as a potential issue, saying that the idea of ​​a drone wall risks oversimplifying reality.

“This will be a network of radar, other sensors, and countermeasures that need to be interoperable and integrated. So pulling it out is not an easy trick,” says Holzapfel.

He stressed that the EU should recognize the risk of drones being launched from within its territory, saying that even national attackers or non-state actors could have been inspired by Ukraine’s infamous “spiderweb” drone attacks on deep strategic targets within Russia earlier this year.

“My concern is that the establishment of a drone wall will be drowned and haggled into the usual European bureaucracy between member states, such as who is calling the shots and which companies will be involved,” Holzapfel said.

“It’s the last moment to establish a drone wall and I’m worried that we won’t be able to pull this apart at the speed we need,” he added.

– Holly Ellyatt of CNBC contributed to this report.