Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Britain announced it has made a deal with four NATO allies to launch an initiative that would see the five nations manufacture low-cost drones to protect Europe.
The European Group of Five (E5) -- Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland -- announced on Friday that they will launch the Low-Cost Effectors & Autonomous Platforms initiative, or LEAP, which is "inspired by Ukraine's battlefield innovation," the British government said in a press release.
The purpose of the program is to jointly develop low-cost autonomous drones that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization can use to counter Russian provocation in the airspace above NATO-allied nations, Politico reported.
The first focus of LEAP, according to British officials, will be the development of a new surface-to-air weapon that is lightweight and affordable in order to defend against Russia's drone and missile threats.
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