Europe's five biggest defense powers are set to announce a plan to invest in military drones, as part of wider efforts to boost the defense industry in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and concerns about the US commitment to NATO.
According to a document seen by Reuters and a Polish defense ministry source, the five aim to cooperate in developing autonomous drones.
The war in Ukraine has shown how autonomous interceptor drones can provide an effective alternative to costly air-defense missiles, and Kyiv's European allies are keen to learn from its experience.
The European Group of Five Defence Ministers, which meets in Krakow, Poland, on Friday, brings together the continent's biggest military spenders - France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Britain.
They are meeting as European leaders work to boost defense capabilities amid increased European doubts about Washington's commitment to protect the continent through the NATO alliance.
The statement seen by Reuters - still subject to change - said ministers "support a real increase in the production capacity of the European defense industrial base" and "welcome the EU's commitment to providing Member states with increased fiscal flexibility for defense spending and to create lending instruments."
However, it says that the EU's role is to support defense capabilities, which remain at the national level.
Ministers pledged to work with NATO against Russian threats
The ministers also pledge to work together within NATO and the EU to counter Russian hybrid threats and to continue supporting Ukraine and efforts to find peace, the statement said.
"We agree to launch the Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms (LEAP) initiative," the statement seen by Reuters said. It said the aim was "to increase our cooperation on the development and procurement of low-cost effectors and autonomous platforms to deliver military effect."
In military terminology, "effectors" are the components of a system that produce a physical effect, while "autonomous platforms" are unmanned systems capable of independent decision-making.