Fifteen European Countries Join Missile Shield Initiative

During a meeting of defense ministers on Thursday, Finland and 14 countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) signed a letter of intent for the development of the “European Sky Shield Initiative.”

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This initiative proposed by Germany was also taken up by Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, the United Kingdom.

This "shield" aims to create a European air and missile defense system through the common procurement of equipment by European nations, which will strengthen NATO's integrated air and missile defense.

NATO Deputy Secretary Mircea Geoana praised the signing of the letter of intent, arguing that the commitment between the allied countries "is even more crucial" today than ever due to the recent launch of Russian missiles towards Ukraine.

"The new resources, fully interoperable and perfectly integrated into NATO air and missile defense, will significantly improve our ability to defend the Alliance from all air and missile threats," he stressed.

According to NATO, the European Sky Shield Initiative will allow participating nations to "jointly develop" an air defence system using interoperable, off-the-shelf solutions.

"This multinational and multifaceted approach offers a flexible and scalable way for nations to strengthen their deterrence and defence in an efficient and cost-effective way," it added