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NATO allies discussed a proposal for an accelerated drone procurement program.
According to UATV English, Politico reported this, citing three alliance diplomats who were granted anonymity in order to speak freely.
During a closed meeting of NATO’s 32 ambassadors, countries discussed whether the alliance should urgently acquire more drones to carry out airspace surveillance missions over border member states.
“Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to create serious risks for Euro-Atlantic security, particularly in the Black Sea. Therefore, it is important that NATO strengthen its presence and capabilities in Romania,” Romanian President Nicușor Dan wrote after the meeting.
“During the discussion, it was agreed to accelerate the implementation of NATO projects aimed at responding to drone threats, so that support measures for affected Alliance members can be approved at the Alliance summit in Ankara next month,” he noted.
It remains unclear when NATO members will acquire the drones.
According to the first NATO diplomat, Wednesday’s meeting also gave new momentum to the development of “concrete initiatives” on drones for the Alliance leaders’ summit, which will take place on July 7–8.
NATO possesses very few military assets of its own, as these are primarily provided to the alliance by national governments. However, NATO can assist countries in acquiring the necessary military equipment, which can then be placed under the control of the alliance’s senior military command.
The allies also focused on threats to critical infrastructure in the Black Sea, including Romania’s €4 billion Neptun Deep offshore gas exploration project, which diplomats said is expected to become operational next year. Countries discussed whether NATO’s military command should devote greater efforts to monitoring threats posed by aerial and maritime drones to these facilities.
As previously reported, people were evacuated from the port of Constanța, Romania, on the morning of June 5 after a maritime drone exploded there. No one was injured in the incident.
Romania’s Ministry of Defence stated that maritime drones of this type are being used in the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The Ukrainian Navy later reported that, while carrying out missions in the Black Sea operational zone, one of its unmanned surface vessels lost control due to enemy electronic warfare systems and drifted toward the Romanian coast.
Earlier, on the night of May 29, a Russian attack drone crashed into the roof of a residential apartment building in the Romanian city of Galați and exploded, breaching the roof and causing a fire in the corridor of an apartment on the top floor. Two residents were injured.
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