Europe confronts drone threat as Baltic officials urge faster, cheaper defenses

Europe is confronting a growing threat from Russian drones and electronic warfare, with Baltic defense officials saying existing air defenses cannot fully counter the drone and jamming activity tied to Moscow's war in Ukraine. From the Baltic states to the Black Sea, countries bordering Russia, Belarus and Ukraine are grappling with spillover as drones, reconnaissance aircraft and cyber-enabled disruptions become routine.

In Poland this month, about 20 Russian drones breached airspace, prompting scramble missions by multimillion-dollar fighter jets to respond to drones that cost only thousands of dollars and which sometimes crashed in rural areas. Russia denied targeting Poland, but Polish officials suggested it was intentional. NATO also warned it would defend against further airspace breaches after Estonia reported Russian jets violating its airspace last week.

"Most of the drones were not detected," Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told The Associated Press, adding that "this is a real gap we have to solve." Baltic and NATO officials say defending against drones requires solving a complex mix of tech, money and bureaucracy, including the need for cheaper, mass-produced equipment because drone capabilities evolve quickly.

Lt. Gen. Andrus Merilo, who commands Estonia's military, said the goal is "technology that is good enough, it’s affordable and can be produced in mass." "I don’t need high-end capabilities... of which I can fire only one, against targets which will be attacking in hundreds," he said.

Russia uses drones every night in Ukraine, a tactic that turns each aircraft into a "lottery ticket that always wins" because drones are cheaper than missiles and can drain Kyiv's air defenses, according to Kusti Salm, a former top official at Estonia’s Defense Ministry who now runs Frankenburg Technologies, which is developing low-cost anti-drone missiles. Analysts say Europe must move faster to adapt as drone technology evolves and Western defenses have not kept pace with recurring threats.

Analysts caution that Western defenses have historically favored high-cost, long-range systems, leaving gaps in counter-drone capabilities. Lithuania’s Tomas Godliauskas, the country’s vice-minister of national defense, said Europe must move faster to adapt. "Drones are not mosquitoes," Pevkur noted, signaling that a simple "electronic wall" along NATO's borders would not suffice because drones vary widely in size, speed and altitude. Russia also uses decoy drones to exhaust air defenses, complicating detection and response.

Panel discussions among EU defense ministers have considered a drone wall along the alliance's eastern border, but the bloc previously denied funding for a joint Estonia-Lithuania plan. Officials say funding must be increased if a Europewide defense is to be realistically affordable and producible.

Some Baltic states have already turned to small, agile suppliers, such as Salm's Frankenburg Technologies, for affordably produced anti-drone missiles, while Ukraine's rapid drone development shows what Europe might emulate. Latvia's Joint Forces Headquarters has highlighted the need for a multi-pronged approach that includes sensors, electronic-warfare capabilities, and low-cost missiles. Colonel Māris Tūtins, head of information analysis and operations at Latvia’s Joint Forces Headquarters, said there is growing support among European leaders for a drone wall along the EU's eastern border, though the bloc has struggled with funding for such a project in the past.

Ultimately, officials say Europe must adopt "semi-wartime thinking" and foster closer collaboration among defense ministries, industry and startups to speed production and fielding of counter-drone systems. As Ukraine proves, what works today may not work tomorrow, and Moscow's broader tactics—hybrid warfare and cyberattacks—mean Europe cannot focus on drones alone.