“We must and will take precautions to protect our country from the threat of drone or missile strikes,” Nehammer said in a press release. In airspace surveillance, this is best done together in a European association with other countries.
“For Austria, this is a milestone in the history of defense policy,” emphasized Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (also ÖVP). “Negotiations are ongoing to examine this cooperation and clarify what Austria’s participation in this project might look like in concrete terms.”
Protective shield for “danger prevention”
“It’s about participating in a protective shield that serves to ward off danger,” say Nehammer and Tanner. Neutrality therefore remains unchanged, both emphasized. “The joint implementation of this project is organizationally and financially possible and sensible only in a European network. No European state can afford the capability of effective airspace defense in view of the new threat situation alone.”
First steps scheduled for Friday
On Friday, Defense Minister Tanner will travel to Bern, where she will meet her German and Swiss counterparts Boris Pistorius and Viola Amherd as part of a trilateral DA-CH meeting. Austria considered this meeting as a possible date for signing the adhesion to the “European Sky Shield Initiative”, as announced by a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense, questioned by the APA.
It is now planned that Tanner will sign the necessary declaration of intent in Pistorius’ presence. However, they didn’t want to reveal any details before the meeting. The Chancellery and Ministry did not initially provide any information on the costs of participation on Saturday.
Tanner had already expressed an interest in participating in the fall and, in a meeting with Pistorius in March, he announced that he would likely participate in the summer.
Currently 17 European countries
The “European Sky Shield Initiative” (ESSI) came from the EU and NATO, Germany, and is a reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since October, NATO members Great Britain, Slovakia, Latvia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Estonia and Norway have also been involved. Denmark and Sweden also joined the project in February. Set against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, “Sky Shield” aims to help close gaps in the current protective shield for Europe.
Paris has not yet participated
France and Italy are currently not included. Paris, in particular, prefers a purely European system, which, however, has not yet been developed. Only recently has the dispute between Paris and Berlin over this strategic issue become public again. French President Emmanuel Macron questions the fact that technology from Israel and the US must also be purchased for the ESSI. Among other things, the purchase of the Israeli Arrow 3 missile system is planned.
Berlin stresses the need to close the gap
German Defense Minister Pistorius (SPD) has recently tried to play down the row. From his point of view, there is no fundamental divergence. Germany also pursues the goal of a European air defense and armaments industry.
“The other question is what happens until then,” he said. “So Macron’s view seems to be that we are not in such a hurry that we have to rely on bridging technologies now, but we can wait until what we are developing in Europe is ready. We and many others are not convinced of this.” During Macron’s state visit to Germany, which has now been postponed because of unrest in France, “Sky Shield” would have been a central theme.
Currently, missile defense in Europe is essentially designed for an attack from Iran, but not Russia, for example. Gaps for these distances must be closed with ESSI.
Must recognize and fend off threats at an early stage
With the “Sky Shield”, a satellite-backed protective screen will be placed over participating countries, which can detect and ward off drones and missiles at an early stage, according to the press release from the Federal Chancellery and Ministry of Defence.
The increased threat situation is reflected in three factors against which the “Sky Shield” intends to provide the necessary protection: drone attacks or threats from misguided drones, threats from military aircraft in European airspace and threats from ballistic or nuclear missiles in European airspace.