The joint declaration is planned to be signed soon.
Fifteen European countries have started work on the development joint European air defense system, initiated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
As Spiegel writes, the idea of a joint European air defense system against ballistic missiles is gaining popularity, and the declaration of intentions of European states that want to participate in the ballistic missile defense system missiles and other aerial threats, are planned to be signed on the sidelines of the NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels.
According to the publication, in addition to Germany, Britain, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Norway, and Lithuania are planning to join the project. , Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Netherlands.
This should help “address the existing gaps in the current shield for Europe,” which has weaknesses, for example, in the field of ballistic missiles operating at high altitudes.
In a program speech in Prague in August Sh oltz announced that he wants to build a new air defense system together with his European neighbors. The new system applies to both ballistic missile defense and so-called close range defense, such as drone attacks. For this, they will probably buy the Israeli Strela system.
Germany and its allies plan to combine several Strela systems and thus significantly increase the protective shield. In some countries, it is likely that only missile batteries will be placed in systems that warn of incoming missiles.
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“It could be predicted that many Eastern European countries would be interested in the joint project. However, Poland, for example, does not want to join the project and build its own air defense system. France also has little interest in the joint project. As a nuclear power, Paris traditionally relies more on the deterrent effect of its own nuclear arsenal than on conventional air defense systems,” the publication writes.
