Estonia calls for 44 million-pound 'drone wall' against Russian threat
The head of Estonia's Ministry of Internal Affairs stated, "No one truly knows the extent of drone traffic between Estonia and Russia." To build the "drone wall," radars capable of detecting drones before they enter the border zone, i.e., when they approach from Russia, are needed, pointed out Lauri Laanemets.
Laanemets estimates that detecting drones flying across the eastern border requires at least 11 million pounds (about 14 million dollars).
However, the more significant challenge is the ability to shoot down hostile drones, added by the head of Estonia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, quoted on Thursday by national broadcaster ERR.
The minister also referred to the recently announced joint initiative of countries bordering Russia - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Finland, and Norway - regarding the construction of a "drone wall," utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles to protect the external national borders.
Laanemets said this idea is in a very early stage, and there have been no discussions, even on the work schedule.
According to information provided by the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, a comprehensive investment in the "drone wall," covering the entire eastern border, including larger cities and critical infrastructure, would cost around 44 million pounds (about 54 million dollars).
Laanemets revealed that data records of intercepted drones show that they previously crossed the border multiple times unnoticed. He added that detecting drones is more difficult in urban areas that are densely built and populated, such as Tallinn, Tartu, Pärnu, or Narva.
If the goal is intimidation, disruption, hacking, or acts of sabotage against our telecommunications masts, communication systems, and infrastructure elements, Russia doesn't need to send anyone across the border. They can do it with drones, the politician emphasized.
According to him, it is very likely that individual operators using standard drones could also take pictures of critical objects and send them to Russia.
For this reason, Laanemets believes that local governments and companies should be interested in monitoring who moves near their critical facilities and support the state in this project, regardless of the possibility of obtaining EU funds.
