EU ministers to discuss building 'drone wall' after Danish airport attacks

European ministers are to meet today for talks on building a “drone wall” to defend against incoming incursions from the skies after Denmark said it had been the victim of a “hybrid attack” on four airports in the second such incident in days.

- Miranda Bryant Jennifer Rankin

Ministers from 10 European countries, including Ukraine, will discuss plans for what the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has described as “the bedrock of credible defence”.

The drone sightings in Denmark began shortly before 10pm on Wednesday and ended just before 1am yesterday. Flights were halted for several hours at Aalborg airport, which also serves as a military base; Billund, Denmark’s second biggest airport, closed its airspace for nearly an hour.

Airports in Esbjerg, Sønderborg and Skrydstrup - home to some of the Danish military’s fighter jets - were also affected. Copenhagen airport was forced to close on Monday night as a result of the presence of three drones.

Von der Leyen backed plans earlier this month for drone defences, but details have until now been scant. The commission’s spokesperson on defence, Thomas Regnier, said the meeting would be a chance to discuss capabilities while stressing the challenges.

“One thing that we will have to do is detect these incoming drones. This is not super-easy to do. We’re not talking about big fighter jets and planes coming in. No, we are talking about the latest technology developments. These drones have to be detected, and then, second track [will be to decide] what will we do to fight back against these drones,” he said.

Ministers from Denmark, the three Baltic states, Finland, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria are expected to take part in the meeting. The commission has indicated that a drone wall could be funded by the EU’s €150bn (£131bn) security action for Europe loans scheme.