Why do drones "flying out" of the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield make Europe so worried?
Drone incidents continue to ferment in Europe, Denmark, Germany said drones were found in their respective countries, and NATO said it would upgrade its missions in the Baltic Sea to deal with drone "invasion".
The outside world noted that in the recent Russian-Ukrainian conflict, drones became the main force of mutual attacks between the two sides, and the use of drones changed conventional warfare.
On February 5, the 25th Independent Airborne Brigade of the Ukrainian Army operating on the Pokrovsk Front will be transported to the launch facility with a decommissioned drone.
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UAVs frequently appear
Russia: No intention of attack
The Danish Ministry of Defence said on the night of 26-27 that drones were found near several military facilities in Denmark, but the Ministry of Defence refused to disclose more information due to security reasons.Many local media reports that drones appeared near the Danish largest military base Karup Air Force Base. Earlier this month, an unknown drone interference occurred at the Danish airport.
NATO said on Thursday that in response to the drone "invasion" of Denmark, it will upgrade its mission in the Baltic Sea, deploy air defense patrol ships in the region.
It is also reported that from the evening of 25th to 26th, drones also appeared in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany, which borders Denmark. German Interior Minister Dobrindt said on the 27th that the Ministry of the Interior is formulating new anti-drone rules to be able to detect, intercept and shoot down drones if necessary.
On the 9th of this month, a large number of drones entered Polish airspace, and the Polish military urgently disposed of and shot down some drones. Poland and NATO said the drone came from Russia, but Russia denied it. Recently, unknown drone interference incidents have also occurred at many airports in Denmark and Norway.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said on Monday that some countries have accused Russia of planning to attack NATO and EU countries, and Russian President Putin has repeatedly exposed such provocative acts.
Maslenikov, head of the European Affairs department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said the EU wanted to use the hysteria caused by an unknown drone entering EU member states' airspace to justify the EU's increased military spending.
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Changing the war.
Drones have the characteristics of low price, strong mobility, and can be deployed in large numbers on the battlefield.
The American World Political Review website reported that the use of drones has gradually become a prominent feature in the Ukrainian crisis, and now they are ubiquitous on the battlefield. Now Russia and Ukraine produce millions of drones every year. It is estimated that 70% of casualties are currently caused by drones. Innovative applications also make drones an important means of offensive and defensive tactical operations.
Ukrainian President Zelensky said in late August that Ukraine had formulated a drone production agreement and proposed cooperation proposals to the United States. Over the next five years, the two sides will produce or jointly produce $50 billion worth of drones, producing 10 million units per year.
The UK "Independent" website that both sides have expanded the mass production of drones, including one-way attack drones, reconnaissance drones, suicide drones, first-view drones for precision strikes, etc. Russia's use of drones has changed conventional warfare, improved the defense and offensive capabilities of both sides.
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Europe urgently fills "loopholes"
Analysts believe that as the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is slowing down, the tactical defense of the two sides around drones is becoming increasingly intense, and security risks tend to spread westward. Recent drone security incidents highlighted "there are gaps in the capacity of Europe and NATO in the defense of drones."
Reuters quoted Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budris as saying: “There are huge vulnerabilities in the EU’s defense system, and we lack adequate equipment to detect, track and destroy drones.”
European Union senior defence official Kubilius held a video meeting on Monday with EU defence ministers such as Poland, Denmark, Bulgaria, Lithuania and representatives of Ukraine and NATO, with the parties agreed to build a "drone wall" at the EU border with Ukraine and Russia.
According to Kubilius, the "UAV Wall" will have advanced reconnaissance, tracking and interception functions, and will be part of the EU's east wing monitoring mechanism. The "specific concept and technology roadmap" of the "drone wall" will be finalized later, and the top priority at present is to establish a detector network.
Kubilius had previously said that the EU "hopes to take very intensive and effective preparatory measures to fill the loopholes as soon as possible, which is really very dangerous for us".