Europe's Drone Defences Face a Costly Reality Check

Taras Bublyk, CEO of UNWAVE, says Europe must build counter-drone systems with Ukraine, not rely on advanced weapons designed without battlefield lessons. European defence budgets are rising, he said, but spending can still go toward expensive systems that may not work effectively. Defence spending is moving. Whether it can adapt is the question.

Lessons Written in Combat

UNWAVE runs a complete production cycle in Ukraine, from design and engineering to serial production, deployment and maintenance. Bublyk said Ukraine’s experience comes from direct combat operations: manufacturers face threats, test solutions on the battlefield and quickly adapt to changing enemy tactics. He wants European partners to contribute technologies, engineering expertise, manufacturing capacity and financial resources to joint development.

The exchange runs both ways, Bublyk said. European countries can draw on Ukraine’s experience integrating drones, electronic warfare systems and other technologies into combat operations. One area for cooperation is intercepting jet-powered Shahed drones by combining Ukrainian battlefield experience with European engineering expertise. He also pointed to satellite communications, navigation technologies and intelligence-gathering capabilities, including services such as Starlink. Some capabilities currently come from US solutions, he said, while Ukraine wants to develop them with European partners.

The threat won't stand still. Drones increasingly use resilient communication links, frequency hopping and alternative navigation methods. Fiber-optic drones don't rely on radio links, while greater autonomy and terminal guidance can let drones continue a mission after losing communication or a signal. Mesh networks add another problem: disabling one channel or node may leave other paths intact.

The Arithmetic of Militarisation

Bublyk said Ukraine’s Defense Forces have neutralized more than 400,000 Russian drones since the beginning of this year. But that figure doesn't answer the central question for governments and manufacturers: how to stop a threat without spending far more on the response than the drone costs. Using an expensive missile against every inexpensive drone, he said, would be difficult to sustain.

His answer is a layered system. It could combine electronic intelligence with radar, optical, thermal-imaging and acoustic sensors, then rapidly process data to classify and track threats. Responses could range from selective electronic warfare against communications or navigation links to interceptor drones, automated turrets, air-defence systems, net launchers and other physical interception methods. The aim is to match the response to the threat and its cost, rather than treat every drone as a reason to fire the most expensive option available.

Automation and artificial intelligence, Bublyk said, matter more and more because sensor data exceeds what human operators can analyse in real time. Systems also need quick updates as drones change frequencies, navigation methods, tactics and design. A countermeasure that works today can fail after the next change.

From Plans to Deployment

Bublyk said much of Europe’s critical infrastructure isn't sufficiently prepared for modern unmanned threats. Some existing protection systems come from local manufacturers without practical combat experience. He proposed first detecting and identifying activity around a facility, then using non-kinetic and kinetic measures, with nets and protective structures tailored to the infrastructure.

Regulation is another obstacle, he said. Many countries restrict electronic warfare systems, including the use of certain frequency bands. Bublyk called for legal frameworks that let Ukrainian and European systems undergo comprehensive testing, clear rules for their use during real threats, defined authority for relevant agencies and rapid-response mechanisms. Those rules determine who can act when a threat appears—and which systems they can use.

He urged European countries to move from planning to developing and deploying systems, and warned against buying technology that hasn't absorbed lessons from the war between Russia and Ukraine. Laser systems and electromagnetic pulses could help counter unmanned aerial vehicles, he said, but they haven't been widely deployed on the battlefield, and their economic viability remains a challenge. High-tech systems can be expensive and destroyed quickly in wartime. Bublyk’s prescription is joint development, greater production capacity and systems that are affordable, effective and scalable. Ukrinform conducted the interview; Olha Tanasiichuk, Prague, wrote the byline.