Europe and Ukraine Launch New Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition to Strengthen Regional Defence

Europe has launched a new missile defence coalition involving Ukraine and nine of its European partners, and it is an important step towards increasing its collective safety. This was announced during the coalition’s inaugural meeting in Paris, the aim of the initiative is to create a joint European capacity to combat the increasing threat of missile attacks. It is lesson which has been learned during the Russia-Ukraine war and by the strain on already existing missile defence systems, the coalition plans to unite the efforts of defence industries, research organisations and armed forces in order to develop world-class sovereign missile defence technologies for Europe.

What Is the Reason Behind the Creation of the Anti-Ballistic Coalition?

The coalition was created due to the increasing threat of ballistic missiles to Europe and it is the fact that in rest of the world interceptor missiles are not available in sufficient quantities.

European countries believe that they cannot rely on the existing missile defence systems any longer as the recent conflicts provides the clear evidence that ballistic missiles are used more and more frequently.

This initiative has the purpose of,

• Improving independent missile defence capabilities of Europe.
• Ensuring better cooperation with all participating countries.
• Reducing dependence from the suppliers.
• Increasing defence capabilities through the joint R&D.
• The coalition mentioned that its initiative is aimed exclusively at defence purposes in order to protect Europe from missile attack.

What Countries Have Joined the Coalition?

Nine countries in the Europe have joined Ukraine in the new anti-ballistic missile program.

1. United Kingdom
2. France
3. Germany
4. Italy
5. Spain
6. Netherlands
7. Denmark
8. Norway
9. Sweden

The representatives of governments and companies from the defense sector have signed a statement jointly in Paris concerning the goals and future plans of the Coalition.

What is the Main Goal of the Coalition?

The goal of the Coalition is to create a pan-European missile defense system that will be used together with the existing systems which each of the countries is using now or is planning to use in the future.

In its short-term work the Coalition will focus on the following tasks,

• Creating the common operational requirements
• Creating joint technical working groups
• Facilitating cooperation with the defense industry
• Developing the plan for the initial missile defense capabilities
• Supporting research and development in missile interception technologies

The long-term goal is to ensure that Europe has a more robust and stable missile defense network.

Freyja: The Leading Project in Missile Defense

It is an important element of the coalition is the creation of Freyja, a missile defense system designed in Ukraine.

The Freyja initiative is expected to be the pivotal project of the coalition, merging Ukraine’s battlefield experience and European technological and industrial skills.

The European defense industry coalition is also working on a project for an exo-atmospheric interceptor that is able to intercept ballistic missiles before they reach their destinations.

These two projects are aimed to further enhance the layers of missile defense in Europe.

Why is Ukraine significant?

Ukraine possesses great operational experience as a result of its long defense against the massive missile attacks of Russia.

The joint declaration of the coalition confirms that Ukraine has developed great experience in,

• The detection of ballistic missile threats
• The usage of integrated air and missile defense systems
• The reaction to missile attacks with a large scope
• The search for technical deficiencies in the existing defense technologies.

European nations consider this practical experience to be vital in creating new missile defense systems.