NATO nations plan to build ‘drone wall’ to defend against Russian aggression

Europe, News May 28, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

Six NATO member countries have agreed to construct a “drone wall” along their borders as a defensive measure against potential threats from Russia. The Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite announced the new plan during an interview with the Lithuanian media outlet.

Norway, Poland, and Finland will collaborate with the three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, to develop an extensive drone project that aims to protect the NATO member states against Russian aggression. The drone program would be useful for border surveillance and to monitor illegal migration across borders.

“This is a completely new thing, a drone wall stretching from Norway to Poland, and the goal is to use drones and other technologies to protect our borders,” Bilotaite said. “Not only with physical infrastructure, surveillance systems but also with drones and other technologies, which would allow us to protect against provocations from unfriendly countries and to prevent smuggling,” she added.

The announcement follows Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s statement earlier this month. Tusk said that Poland had initiated a contract to join the European Sky Shield Initiative, which consists of 21 countries. This initiative seeks to establish an air defense system like Israel’s Iron Dome, encompassing all NATO member nations throughout Europe.

European Union nations bordering Russia have grown increasingly concerned that Vladimir Putin will shift his focus to Russia’s Western neighbors following the actions in the Ukraine conflict. In preparation, Poland has invested billions in enhancing its border defenses with Belarus, Estonia has constructed a network of military bunkers along its frontier, and Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, has become a member of NATO.

NATO RQ-4D Drone — *^{An RQ-4D at the AGS Main Operating Base at Sigonella, Italy. NATO operates a fleet of these drones which are key contributors to Alliance situational awareness. (Image Credit: NAGSF)}*

Forced Migration

Another rationale for implementing stringent border controls is to address the issue of illegal and forced migration from Russian borders. Last year, Finland had to shut down its border crossings with Russia due to the Kremlin’s action of airlifting migrants from Asia and sending them across the border on bicycles. Finnish authorities stated that Moscow was exploiting migration as a tool to destabilize Europe.

In her statement, Bilotaite mentioned that the proposed “drone wall” details were still under discussion and that the agreement inked over the weekend, forming part of a broader strategy to counter the Russian threat.

“We agreed to hold regional drills to ensure the evacuation of the population, to see how our institutions are prepared to work and to interact with each other,” she said

Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has bolstered its military presence along its northwestern border with the EU and relocated nuclear missiles to Belarus.

Image: Migrant crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border — ^{Migrants gather on the Belarusian-Polish border in an attempt to cross it, while Polish military police stand guard on the Polish side of the border, at the Bruzgi-Kuznica Bialostocka border crossing in the Grodno Region, Belarus November 15, 2021. (Image Credit: Leonid Scheglov/BelTA/via Reuters)}

Estonia reported last week that Russian border guards had removed buoys marking the navigable channels in Estonian waters along the Narva River, which forms a border with Russia. Around the same time, Russia published a draft proposal announcing a unilateral expansion of its maritime borders with Finland and Lithuania.