EU eastern states agree on need for 'drone wall', bloc's defence chief says

HELSINKI (Reuters) -Countries on the European Union's eastern flank have agreed on the need for a "drone wall" with advanced detection, tracking and interception capabilities, EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said on Friday.

Drones now play a major role in the war in Ukraine, with both Moscow and Kyiv boosting their domestic production, while increased drone activity has exacerbated security concerns in several EU member states in recent weeks.

"Russia is testing the EU and NATO, and our response must be firm, united, and immediate," Kubilius told reporters in Finland after a videoconference with defence ministers mostly from the EU's eastern flank and representatives of Ukraine and NATO.

Participants have agreed to move from "discussions to concrete actions" and that the planned "drone wall" will be part of a broader Eastern Flank Watch that will also include ground defences and maritime security, he said.

"We shall look how to build a comprehensive European Union industrial policy and financial toolbox to make the shield a reality," he told a press conference.

Kubilius gave no details on funding but an EU official told Reuters that EU heads of state and government were expected to hold "intensive" discussions on the issue in October.

Representatives from Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Denmark attended Friday's video conference.

Kubilius stressed the need to develop additional capabilities and said a detailed technical roadmap would be drawn up with national experts.

Establishing a network of detectors must be a first priority, the commissioner said, adding that surveillance systems should be integrated and capabilities in areas such as jamming and drone interception improved.

Around 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace on September 10, prompting NATO jets to shoot some of them down and the alliance to beef up defences along Europe's eastern flank.

This week drone incursions forced several airports, both civilian and military, to shut down temporarily in various parts of Denmark. Its defence minister branded the drone sorties as hybrid attacks but it remains unclear who was behind them.

Russia denied any involvement in the Danish incursions.

(Reporting by Anne Kauranen, Lili Bayer, Elviira Luoma and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, editing by Bart Meijer and Gareth Jones)