China refuses to export components, the EU's drone defense plan is in ruins, and the EU begins to change its attitude towards China!
At the informal EU meeting on October 1st, the "drone wall" plan strongly advocated by von der Leyen was strongly criticized by member states such as Germany and France. The originally planned two-hour meeting had to be extended to four hours, and the atmosphere became tense for a time.
"We tried to produce European drones, but we could not reach the same technical level as China," said a French buyer to the UK's Financial Times, venting his frustration. This helpless sentiment reveals the awkward situation of the EU in the field of drones at present.
The concept of the "drone wall" first appeared in von der Leyen's "State of the Union" speech on September 10, 2025. At that time, she proposed to establish an EU eastern monitoring mechanism, develop real-time space monitoring capabilities, and adopt the initiative of the Baltic countries to build a "drone wall".
According to the plan, this "wall" is a networked, three-dimensional defense system.
Its main task is to detect, track, and intercept drones, locating targets through radar, infrared, electro-optical, and radio signal means, and suppressing or shooting down drones before they enter key areas. However, this concept has been strongly opposed by France, Italy, and Germany, one of the reasons being that it is too expensive and not feasible for mass deployment.
A global drone market research institution pointed out that 70% to 80% of the drone components worldwide are manufactured by Chinese companies. In core components such as sensors and speed controllers, Chinese companies hold an absolute dominant position. In September last year, China tightened the export control of drones and related technologies, and the new regulations came into effect.
This regulation precisely covers key technologies and components such as the engine and motor driving drones, the laser for targeting, and the electronic interference equipment for counter-drone systems.
Faced with an insurmountable technological gap and a huge production capacity gap, some EU countries have begun to show subtle changes in their attitude towards China. Countries such as Finland, Poland, and the Czech Republic have already realized the power of China through these events. The Prime Minister of Finland recently praised China as a rational and responsible major country in an interview, which is unprecedented previously.
Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1844960817348608/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.