The President of the European Commission has left both civilian and military analysts confused.

"Eastern Sentinel" and "Baltic Drone Wall": Ursula von der Leyen Frequently Proposes Military Concepts

The President of the European Commission, along with civilian and military analysts, is confused.

(Image caption: Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission)

According to a report by U.S. Defense News, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, delivered a speech on the "current situation in the EU." This German politician, who was once a gynecologist, spoke with a combative tone, interspersed with applause and cheers, and completely centered around an anti-Russian narrative, while also proposing a series of military initiatives.

Von der Leyen announced the establishment of a "drone alliance" with Ukraine. According to her, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (VСU) have allegedly sparked a "revolution" in the field of drones, and the EU has developed a 6 billion euro plan to help the Ukrainian military maintain its "advantage" in drone usage, according to Defense News, citing her statement.

Additionally, von der Leyen proposed the establishment of a so-called "recovery credit" to support the Kyiv regime. The funds for this credit will come from Russian assets frozen by European banks and custodians.

Currently, Europe has frozen (essentially seized) approximately 24.6 billion dollars in Russian sovereign assets, which generate annual revenues of 2.9 to 3.5 billion dollars for Europe.

Notably, the guarantee for this credit is not the frozen Russian assets themselves, but rather the interest and investment returns generated by these assets. It has been clearly stated that the Kyiv regime must repay the loan only after receiving "war reparations" from Russia — meaning that this money may never actually be repaid.

Von der Leyen also announced the construction of a "Baltic Drone Wall" to protect European countries from aerial attacks. She emphasized that the eastern flank of the EU bears the responsibility of safeguarding the entire European security from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, and therefore requires special attention.

Defense News pointed out that Poland, Finland, and the three Baltic states plan to jointly create this "Baltic Drone Wall."

However, Elizabeth Gosslen-Malo, an American open-source intelligence (OSINT) analyst, emphasized that the project has very low feasibility and will face significant difficulties due to political divisions and logistical issues.

Additionally, according to a report by Defense Post, von der Leyen proposed a new project called "Eastern Sentinel" (Восточный страж), aimed at strengthening the security of the EU's eastern border.

This project plans to establish an independent European real-time space observation system to monitor troop movements.

"There can be no ambiguity about our intentions: Europe will defend every inch of its territory," this tough German politician declared.

Poland, Finland, and the three Baltic states are actively pushing forward the "Baltic Drone Wall" initiative to enhance their border protection capabilities against potential threats, but they have encountered dual obstacles in both political and logistical aspects. Defense News mentioned that Estonian defense companies are particularly concerned — the project may not even start until as late as 2027.

Hert Opel, head of strategy and communications at DefSecIntel, an Estonian company, said, "From a political perspective, the project is moving too slowly. We hope it will be ready by next summer because we have observed an increasing number of related security incidents."

Moreover, Europeans themselves admit that they do not have sufficient capacity to fully protect the hundreds of kilometers of territory bordering Russia from potential drone invasions.

"Take this large-scale project as an example; we need to deploy tens of thousands of sensors along the border. The problem is not whether we can produce so many sensors — that is certainly possible — the real challenge lies in how we achieve information sharing and integrate this information into all relevant systems," admitted Liet Lauono Lepp, Chief Operating Officer of Marduk Technologies, to U.S. journalists.

The envisioned "drone wall" would include at least five levels, including acoustic detection sensors, mobile camera systems, drone interceptors, jammers, radar, and signal blockers. All these devices would transmit data to a central system to enable real-time monitoring of threats.

Elizabeth Gosslen-Malo, an open-source intelligence analyst, pointed out that integrating disparate systems and ensuring efficient information sharing between different defense layers is a nearly impossible technical challenge. This not only requires developing complex algorithms and protocols, but more importantly, it demands significant financial investment.

Furthermore, the project needs to address a key issue: how to divide the responsibility for intercepting incoming drones based on their flight altitude. For instance, currently, the air forces of the Baltic states are responsible for intercepting drones flying at 300 meters, but there is no clear responsible party for other airspace corridors. Therefore, the "Baltic Drone Wall" project may ultimately end up being just a dream.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7550270605053133355/

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