Germany and France sign agreement for 'Odin's eye' missile detector

Nato allies want to beef up protection against Russian drones

French Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin and her German counterpart Boris Pistorius shake hands after a signing ceremony at Nato headquarters in Brussels. AP

Germany and France agreed on Wednesday to build a satellite-based early warning system called "Odin's eye", which is meant to significantly improve capabilities to detect missile launches.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who signed the agreement with his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin, said that Berlin would also invest €10 billion ($11.6 billion) in military drones in coming years to help protect European and Nato airspace as it faces a rising threat from Russia.

Mr Pistorius welcomed a drone defence plan presented by Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte, referring to recent incursions into the territory of countries such as Poland and Estonia.

“Germany will, of course, make a visible contribution here as well,” Mr Pistorius told reporters at Nato's headquarters in Brussels during a meeting with his counterparts in the alliance.

He added that German drone purchases would be “of all types and altitudes” and include defence and attack craft. “Above all, we want to ensure that the many individual measures mesh together like cogwheels,” Mr Pistorius said.

Germany is ready to take the lead on a joint European Union air-defence shield, one of a number of flagship defence projects due to be presented by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen – a former German defence minister – later on Wednesday, Mr Pistorius added.

Separately, Germany announced it had agreed to negotiate with Turkey over potential deliveries of Eurofighter jets, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry said.

"The German government has responded positively to a preliminary request from Airbus to negotiate the delivery of Eurofighters to Turkey," the spokesperson said. "These aircraft are used for collective defence within the Nato framework."

A German Air Force Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon fighter jet performs during the Malta International Airshow. Reuters

He added that Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will travel to Ankara on Friday to discuss the issue with his Turkish counterpart.

In Brussels, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth called on Nato allies to increase spending on US weapons for Ukraine, following a report that highlighted a sharp decline in military support for Kyiv in July and August.

Finland and Sweden said they would buy more weapons from the US to give to Ukraine. “This is critical now because we’ve been seeing the wrong trajectory when it comes to support to Ukraine, that it’s been going down and we want to see more stepping up,” Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson said.

Belgium, which recently opened an investigation into several drones flying over a military base, will have more anti-drone and detection systems as soon as possible, its Defence Minister Theo Francken said. He added that the Belgian and Dutch governments will sign a missile defence systems agreement.

Ms von der Leyen first called for the creation of a "drone wall" to counter Moscow last month, hours after Nato jets shot down Russian unmanned aircraft in Poland.

The initial focus of the proposal was on bolstering the EU's eastern border states, but it has been broadened after drones alarmed several countries further west.

Officials told AFP that Brussels wants the project, now called the European Drone Defence Initiative, to begin working by the end of 2026 and to be fully functioning by the end of 2027.

The initiative is one of several EU projects set to be unveiled by the European Commission on Thursday in a road map aimed at preparing the bloc for a potential attack by Moscow by 2030.

Countries in the south of the bloc have pressed for the drone initiative to be focused beyond the EU's eastern nations. Ms von der Leyen said earlier this month that the drone initiative would be widened and could help tackle other issues such as illegal migration.