EU leaders agree on urgent need to innovate in defense, especially drones

NATO and EU leaders signaled a major acceleration in drone development this week, responding to recent Russian drone incursions into European airspace, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Thursday.

Speaking ahead of a European leaders’ meeting in Copenhagen, Rutte emphasized the urgency of keeping pace with rapidly evolving threats. “When the opponent develops quickly, you have to make sure you keep up,” he said.

He praised Dutch F-35 pilots who recently shot down drones over Poland, saying, “I am incredibly proud of the Dutch F-35 pilots who were able to take those drones down in Poland. That proves it works. But at the same time, in the long term, you obviously cannot spend millions on missiles to shoot down drones while those drones themselves cost only a few thousand euros.”

Rutte noted that drones have also been spotted in Danish airspace in recent weeks but did not specify their origin. “We are still examining that,” he said. He highlighted Ukraine as a leader in “anti-drone technology and protection against digital threats” and stressed the importance of sharing those insights with Denmark and Poland. “It is very important that Ukraine shares insights gained after 3.5 years of terrible Russian attacks,” Rutte said.

Separately, Dutch caretaker Prime Minister Dick Schoof said EU governments agreed on Thursday that the European defense industry must significantly boost innovation, especially in drones, which he called “modern warfare.” He described this as one of the most important outcomes of an informal EU summit that ran over an hour longer than planned.

Discussion of Ukraine featured prominently in the summit, with President Volodymyr Zelensky addressing leaders via video link. Schoof noted that EU countries must share the costs of support for Ukraine more fairly. “That is not currently the case,” he said. “Denmark and the Netherlands are among the countries providing significant support, while Southern Europe lags far behind.” The summit concluded with a dinner hosted by the Danish royal family, after which the press was briefed on the outcomes.