After weeks of European airspace, leaders gather in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, where they are expected to discuss various measures to protect the heavens from the continent, including the emblematic initiative of the drone wall.
The European Commission, together with the European Union, is working on the elaboration of a “prompt guide to the defense,” a source related to CNN told the matter earlier this week. The guide will include four defense projects, including the drone wall, the source added.
The Drone Wall initiative will not be a physical wall, but a network in layers of detection and interception systems, based on the individual anti-drug capacities of the EU Member States.
The idea was announced after several European countries reported raids on their airspace, with the majority to point their finger at Russia, although the Kremlin deny involvement.
“Europe is expected to give a strong and united response to Russian drone raids on our borders,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission on Tuesday.
“That’s why we will propose immediate actions to create the drone wall as part of the Eastern Flank Watch. We have to move together, with Ukraine and NATO,” he added.
Police in Mota in front of the Christiansborg Palace before the informal meeting of the European Union leaders in Copenhagen, Denmark, on September 30, 2025. NurPhoto/Getty Images
European leaders have revealed little information on how the initiative can effectively be implemented or how long it will take.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned earlier this week that the development of a “drone wall” could take at least three or four years.
But Latvia Prime Minister Evika Silina told journalists in Copenhagen on Wednesday that she could take much less time. “We don’t need three years, and I believe we can do it at a much shorter period,” he said.
Although a wall of drones can actually help deliver the “huge gap” currently present in NATO’s air defense, the concept itself is not necessarily new, CNN Rafael Loss, a researcher in defense, security and technology, told CNN Rafael Loss think tank European Council on Foreign Relations.
A project called European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), designed to reinforce European air defense and anti -Simissil, has been under development for years, Loss pointed out. Nevertheless, there are several ways in which the drone wall could still support NATO and European Union countries.
By expanding the network of sensors along the eastern rear of NATO, countries will be able to identify and track potential drone raids more effectively, Loss suggested.
“Previously, NATO’s air defense was prepared to face quick threats – planes, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hypersonic … but not specifically drones,” he explained. “This is changing slowly due to what we see in Ukraine.”
Ukraine is the “most experienced country in Europe regarding the drone and counter-groves’ war,” Loss added. Using the experience of counselors involved in this type of conflict could help the rest of the continent understand the best way to combat Russian drones.
Drone interception can also be developed deeper, the researcher suggested, with countries to move away from the use of expensive defense systems, such as the Patriot, and to incorporate cheaper electronic war methods, including interference, signs falsification, or disturbance of the electronic signals of drone.
With drones to be small, cheap and capable of, they represent a disproportionate threat to countries against which they are used. In addition to causing physical damage, they can be used for surveillance and are at risk of aircraft collision.
Also, even if a drone is intercepted on a country’s airspace, Loss stresses that “the wreckage will fall somewhere.”
“If intercepted on a city, you can save the high value target you are trying to protect – the parliament, a hospital, an electric center or something. But the wreckage will still fall somewhere and can cause damage to people and goods,” he explained.
“It is necessary to complement this type of defensive efforts, because, again, there are huge gaps that need to be filled, but it is necessary to complement with a parallel way that increases the offensive capacity so that you can harm the other side,” Loss added.
Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Tuesday that a drone wall is a “excellent idea”, both “timely and necessary”, citing the cost as a crucial reason for developing the initiative.
“In the end, we can’t spend millions of euros or dollars on missiles to overthrow drones, which cost only a few thousand dollars,” he said.
