Germany and EU allies will lead key defence projects to enhance Europe’s military capabilities and coordination under a 2030 strategic framework.
At a gathering of EU defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Berlin is prepared to take the lead in bolstering the EU's air defense.
In the upcoming years, the European Commission intends to implement a number of signature projects, including the so-called European Air Shield, to strengthen defense and deterrence against Russia.
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is displaying increasingly aggressive hybrid behaviour, and we must not slacken our efforts to strengthen our defence capabilities for a moment,"
Pistorius said.
The goal is to create a multi-layered, integrated air defense system that is fully compatible with NATO's command and control system and has the sensor technology required to defend against any airborne threats, according to information dpa was able to gather.
The second quarter of next year is when the project is expected to begin.
EU defense ministers addressed the program's details Wednesday, along with other so-called flagship projects, including the plan to enhance European air defense capabilities.
The commission is expected to present the rearmament roadmap to the press on Thursday.
"This is a roadmap with concrete objectives, concrete goals, and concrete milestones how to achieve defence readiness by 2030,"
said EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas.
"We are a drone powerhouse already right now,"
he said.
"Drones are absolutely one of the domains where we, as a small country, can also provide and contribute with our knowledge, expertise, and contribution,"
he added.
Drones were a key component of the rearmament plan, according to Kallas.
With its 1,300-kilometer land border with Russia, Finland is willing to assume a leading position in the land domain, according to Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen.
Häkkänen emphasized, however, that "the most important thing" would be transparency on the funding of the various initiatives.
According to Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson, Sweden was prepared to contribute its knowledge of ground warfare, connectivity, and low-to-medium range air defense.
How will Germany coordinate an EU-wide air defence command structure?
Germany is at the forefront of a collaborative approach to joint procurement and logistics of air defense weapons and missile systems for EU member states, standardizing platforms, such as Patriot, IRIS-T and other layered elements of air defense, to create a structure for systems interoperability.
The ESSI architecture incorporates long-range systems like the Israeli Arrow-3, medium-range U.S. Patriot missiles and short-range German IRIS-T systems, to establish a continuum multi-layered air defense framework to be managed jointly.
Germany, along with EU and NATO partners, is facilitating dual-use radar, electronic warfare and command and control systems intended to enable real-time threat alerts, information sharing and cross-border coordination capabilities.