Ministers from Poland, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom announced the joint effort to develop low-cost drones and autonomous platforms. The project draws on battlefield experience from nearly four years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov joined the meeting via video link, alongside EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Šekerinska. The gathering underscored closer coordination between European states and partners in response to evolving security threats.
The LEAP initiative is intended to create cheaper alternatives to costly air defence missiles for countering drones. The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that autonomous interceptor drones can provide an effective and economical response to aerial threats.
“We are implementing the experience from Ukraine and developing our industrial potential in a dynamic way. Europe has woken up,” Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said at a press conference following the meeting.
Kosiniak-Kamysz described drone warfare as having transformed the conduct of operations in Ukraine. He said unmanned systems have altered planning assumptions for many armed forces.
He added that drones are continuously modernised rather than purchased “for stock”, with artificial intelligence now integrated into drone systems. “Technologies and combat techniques are changing dynamically, we need to respond quickly and adequately,” he said.
UK Minister for Defence Procurement Luke Pollard said the five nations must align defence spending more closely with the scale and cost of emerging threats. “We have some of the best kit on the entire planet for shooting down air threats. The problem is to be effective at shooting down relatively low-cost missiles, drones and other threats facing us,” he said.
The ministers also pledged stronger support for Ukraine and greater preparedness among European armed forces. The launch of LEAP reflects an effort to translate battlefield lessons into coordinated industrial and technological development across the five countries.
