“During the discussion, it was agreed to accelerate NATO projects on responding to drone threats, so that support measures for affected Allies can be approved at the [alliance’s] Ankara summit” next month, he said.
The pre-planned meeting came after a Russian drone crashed into an apartment block in Romania late last month, injuring two people and drawing an immediate plea from Bucharest to fast-track NATO air defense deliveries. The alliance has also scrambled jets to shoot down suspicious drones over Latvia and Estonia in recent weeks.
“As a direct result of Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine, we’ve seen more incidents with drones along our eastern flank,” said NATO spokesperson Allison Hart.
It remains unclear when NATO allies would buy the drones.
Wednesday’s meeting also injected fresh urgency into delivering “concrete initiatives” on drones for the July 7-8 summit of alliance leaders, the first NATO diplomat said.
NATO owns very few military assets, as there are largely provided to the alliance by national governments. But NATO can help guide countries to purchase needed battlefield kit, which can then be placed under the control of the alliance’s top military commanders.
Allies also flagged threats to critical infrastructure in the Black Sea, including Romania’s €4 billion Neptun Deep offshore gas exploration project, the diplomats said, which is set to come online next year. Countries discussed whether NATO’s military command should do more to monitor aerial and naval drone threats to these installations.
National military officials, who met last week at the alliance’s military command in the Belgian city of Mons, expressed openness toward shifting more air defense assets to monitor and eliminate drones flying over Romania, according to the first NATO diplomat and a person familiar with the matter.