Romania involves Ukraine in drone production under SAFE, Reuters reports
Photo: nearly €17 billion planned for drone production (Getty Images)
Romania plans to cooperate with Ukraine in drone production as part of the European defense program SAFE. At the same time, the country’s fully functional, multi-layered air defense system will be ready in at least seven years, sources in the Romanian government told Reuters.
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Romania is already in talks with Ukraine, "whose drone technologies have been tested in large-scale battles," to begin joint production.
Drone manufacturing will be financed through the EU SAFE initiative (Strengthening Europe’s Defense Capacities).
Creating Romania’s multi-layered air defense system will take at least seven years, a government source said.
Bucharest will receive €16.6 billion ($19.4 billion) under the SAFE program, which, according to Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, will allow about 1% of GDP to be allocated annually to military purchases over the next five years.
Currently, Romania’s air defense includes F-16 fighters, Patriot systems, HIMARS rocket launchers from Lockheed Martin, South Korean short-range Chiron air-defense missiles, and German Gepard anti-aircraft guns.
The source noted that the last two options are the most cost-effective for countering drones.
Gepards are positioned near settlements close to the Ukrainian border, but covering the entire border and maintaining them continuously would be prohibitively expensive.
EU SAFE Initiative
The SAFE mechanism (Security Action for Europe) is a new financial initiative by the European Union, adopted in May of this year.
Its goal is to strengthen the defense industry and increase the EU’s readiness to protect its interests.
Under SAFE, up to €150 billion will be allocated as long-term loans for EU member states, Ukraine, and other partners interested in joint defense projects.
SAFE also allows EU countries to order weapons from Ukrainian enterprises.
For context, Russian drones have repeatedly violated Romanian airspace. Against this backdrop, Romania approved a plan to shoot down drones and aircraft that cross its border illegally.
On September 26, a discussion is scheduled on the drone wall that the EU plans to build.
In addition to Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria, the discussion will also involve Ukraine, Slovakia, and Denmark.
Drone threat to the EU
The escalation of the drone situation in the EU began after September 10, when Russian drones massively violated Polish airspace. After that, drones started appearing in Romania, Lithuania, Denmark, and Estonia.
The EU is actively responding to the threat and discussing defense projects at a time when the Kremlin’s war machine is focused on producing drones.
