MILAN — Nine European countries have partnered with Ukraine to create a new anti-ballistic coalition, envisioned to create a pan-European capability to counter adversarial ballistic attacks, leaders said at the program’s inaugural meeting on Monday.
The new platforms “will complement existing ballistic missile defence systems, including sovereign European solutions already acquired, or to be acquired by participating countries,” the group said in a joint declaration. “By bringing together our defence industrial base, our research, and our operational experience, we aim to build a shared antiballistic missile capacity for Europe and support relevant contributory activities. We do this not against any people, but in defence of our own.”
The United Kingdom, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, France and Germany officially joined the project in response to the shrinking availability of anti-ballistic missiles on the global market.
Country leaders, as well as industry, gathered in Paris to sign the joint declaration outlining the group’s current priorities, which are focused on establishing common operational requirements, joint technical working groups, and a roadmap towards initial capabilities in this field.
