The heads and tails of drones: a nightmare for the eastern flank of Europe and the possible manna of Ukraine

“Russia is and will continue to be a threat to all Europa. The only possible response is to reinforce the cooperation“said the Finnish Prime Minister this week, Petteri Orpohost of the eastern flank leaders summit.

The meeting in Helsinki brought together leaders of Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Polandin addition to Finland. That is, six members of the European Union and the I’LL TAKE bordering with Russia or its ally, Belarus. They also attended Bulgaria y Romania. The Baltics had been demanding since the annexation of Crimeain 2014, the reinforcement of the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance. Sweden and Finland joined it following the invasion on a large scale Ukrainein 2022. Politically polarized countries like Poland, with a pro-European head of government –Donald Tusk– in permanent and frontal battle with the ultranationalist president –Karol Nawrowki–, they reacted showing cohesion to the “unprecedented aggression” that was the incursion of 19 Russian drones into their territory last September. This warning signal was followed by other irruptions that forced the closure of the airspace of airports in Denmark, Germany, Belgiumthe Baltic countries, Poland or Romania. Most of them remain unclarified, since the presence of military drones Commercial devices and even air balloons used for smuggling were added. Its multiplicity has put the affected countries in check.

The answer is the call Eastern Flank Watch (eastern flank surveillance), whose leadership has been assumed by Finland and Poland. Among its priority objectives is the anti-drone wall hastily announced by the European Commission after the incursion of large aircraft in Poland, which “tested the rapid response capacity of NATO’s defenses as a whole.” “If it was a test, it was very cheap for Russia. They are mass-produced devices and “oblige NATO to give efficient but balanced responses, so as not to precipitate an escalation.”Kai-Olaf Lang, a security expert at the Science and Politics Foundation (SWP), commented in a meeting with correspondents in Berlin.

‘Sacrificing’ unmanned devices is cheap and, in addition, both the defensive effectiveness and the possible panic reactions of the population are put to the test, the expert warns. Are the most recent nightmare of the airspace of countries geographically close to Russia and, by extension, neighbors like Germany.

Star product of the attacked country

But drones are also, in parallel, a success platform for Ukraine. In addition to needing military, political and economic support from its allies, it begins to produce these devices abroad and considers exporting its surplus materials. armas to finance itself.

Last Monday, the chancellor Friedrich Merz served as host at the summit between Volodímir Zelenski and the emissaries of Donald Trump –your representative for peace missions, Steve Witkoffand his son-in-law, Jared Kushner–, in addition to the main European leaders of Ukraine and leaders of NATO and the EU. In parallel to his marathon meetings, a German-Ukrainian forum was held in Berlin with businessmen and potential investors in the country still at war. Zelensky made an appearance there, while Merz announced a 10-point plan that includes the opening of a delegation of the Ukrainian arms industry in Berlin and a mass production plant for combat drones in German territory. A few weeks earlier, Zelensky had presented a similar office in Denmark, where a fuel production plant for the Ukrainian Fire Point, manufacturer of the long-range ‘Flamingo’ missile, has already been installed.

The German-Ukrainian company established in Germany is called Quantum Frontline Industries (QFI). It will be there pioneer within the EU in the automated and industrial production of drones. The companies involved promise transparency and the fight against corruption, the big shining light on Zelensky’s team. Along with the massive manufacturing of devices intended for the defense of Ukraine plans to produce drones for NATO’s eastern flank.

Export of surpluses

“Our goal is coproduce and export. We need to sell our surpluses to acquire defensive systems that we cannot manufacture ourselves,” Zelensky explained to the businessmen. Germany is the EU’s largest contributor to military aid to Ukraine. Together with Denmark, also very committed to supporting kyiv, it acts as a launch lever for the Ukrainian arms sector.

The export of surpluses has been possible since the lifting of the ban on sales of own weapons signed by Zelensky in November. The drones ‘made in Ucrania’ They are intended to be competitive on an international scale. The big ones arms consortiums The Germans still consider them a by-product, since their forte is tanks, long-range missiles such as Taurus or anti-aircraft defense systems.

Ukraine has managed to develop very efficient drones in record time and also manufactures them in quantities greater than the needs of its national defense. Those that will come out of Quantum Frontline are fully automated devices, related to the long-range ones that Ukraine has developed, with a range of up to 1,000 kilometers. In Ukraine, their production is underground, to protect them from Russian bombing. With these unmanned devices, Zelensky’s Army has achieved attack Russian oil refineries, crude oil terminals and energy plants. They are blows to the heart of the Kremlin-controlled state conglomerate that is Rosneft. The next big chapter for the Ukrainian arms industry is the Sapsan and Flamingo missiles.

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