On February 21, the E5 group including France, Poland, Germany, England and Italy announced a new cooperation program to produce cheap air defense systems and drone platforms (automatic unmanned aerial vehicles), based on battlefield experience that Ukraine has accumulated over 4 years of conflict with Russia.
This initiative is part of a series of European efforts to strengthen defense along the eastern border, including the idea of building a "drones wall" along the border with Russia and Ukraine to detect, track and intercept unmanned aerial vehicles entering the airspace.
The conflict has turned Ukraine into one of the most fierce drone "laboratories" in the world. Both Moscow and Kiev have developed advanced drone combat capabilities, significantly changing modern battlefield tactics.
Poland has now coordinated with Ukraine in joint training and production programs on drone technology.
These efforts were boosted after a series of strange drone intrusions into European borders and airports. Russia is accused of being behind some incidents, but Moscow denies any intention or involvement.
Mr. Luke Pollard - Deputy Minister of Defence of the UK in charge of Industry and Combat Readiness - emphasized that Britain and its E5 partners are accelerating, jointly investing in a new generation of air defense and self-propelled systems to strengthen NATO's "shield".
According to Mr. Pollard, the major challenge now is not only shooting down targets, but how to make defense costs commensurate with deterrence costs. "We have the best equipment in the world to deal with air threats. But it is necessary to ensure that interception costs are not dozens of times higher than the drones or cheap missiles we face," he said.
Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the countries have signed a joint investment agreement on the production and procurement of drone-based attack capabilities as well as cheap drone defense systems, within the framework of a program called LEAP.
The agreement also includes joint development of combat warheads for drones, joint production and procurement at low cost, and artificial intelligence integration.
In September 2025, when Russian drones were accused of entering Polish airspace, Warsaw and NATO allies had to deploy fighter jets worth millions of USD to respond to devices costing only a few thousand USD, before they fell into rural areas.
The problem of "taking expensive to compete cheap" is causing policymakers headaches. Cheap kinetic energy or electronic interception systems are expected to solve this paradox.
Europe is accelerating rearmament amid US President Donald Trump's continuous criticism of NATO, Europe's defense spending, and the traditional alliance structure. The EU has sharply increased its defense budget, while considering more in-depth military projects.
Ms. Kaja Kallas - EU foreign policy chief - warned that European security is the most uncertain in decades, with pressure from Russia, Middle East instability, competition from China and a "re-defined" US-European alliance. According to her, the low-cost interception program demonstrates Europe's commitment to strengthening its own strength.
