US EditionEurope's Main Military Powers to Develop Low-Cost Air-Defence Systems
The initiative, drawing on Ukraine battlefield lessons, aims to rapidly produce affordable air-defense drones and weapons to reduce reliance on external support, officials said.
- Five European countries aim to cooperate in developing low-cost autonomous drones and air-defence systems, known as the Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms initiative.
- The LEAP initiative seeks to increase cooperation on the development and procurement of affordable unmanned systems to counter threats like drones and missiles, drawing lessons from Ukraine's battlefield innovations.
- The UK is expanding cooperation with European allies on long-range precision and hypersonic weapons, with over £400 million spent on such projects this financial year.
19 Articles
19 Articles
These four years of war in Ukraine have changed our vision of the world and its security. But also the daily life of some French workers, who have to start manufacturing drones or shells. TestimonialsEnergy and enthusiastic behind her great glasses, Maria, 55, has been assembling engines for Renault in Cléon, near Rouen for eleven years. This site would be about to start manufacturing engines for new French military drones. "I'm up for it," she …
The five largest European defence powers, including France, were gathered this Friday 20 February in Krakow, Poland, to work towards a "more European NATO". They unveiled the contours of their joint initiative, called LEAP.
UK joins European push for low-cost air defence weapons
The UK has joined France, Germany, Italy and Poland in launching a new multinational initiative to develop low-cost air defence weapons aimed at countering drone and missile threats across Europe, the Ministry of Defence has announced. Unveiled at the European Group of Five (E5) meeting in Krakow on 20 February 2026, the ‘Low-Cost Effectors & Autonomous Platforms’ initiative, known as LEAP, will focus on developing advanced but affordable surfac…
Europe's five biggest defence powers are teaming up on a multi-million euro project to bring low-cost air-defence systems like autonomous drones or missiles into production within 12 months, ministers meeting in the Polish city of Krakow said on Friday.
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