Five NATO Countries Agree on Joint Development of Affordable Interceptor Drones

Five NATO countries – Germany, France, Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom – have pledged to launch a new initiative for producing affordable interceptor drones within a year.

Politico reports this development.

The defense ministers from these five countries announced the initiative, called Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms (LEAP), as part of NATO’s efforts to strengthen air defense against Russia.

“Together, we have some of the best capabilities in the world to defeat airborne threats. We are confident this is just the first step in a series of initiatives we expect to follow,” UK Deputy Defense Minister Luke Pollard shared after the meeting.

Pollard added that the drone program “signals the defense industry in each of the five countries to rise to this challenge.”

The media notes that the initiative reflects growing concerns about the protection of European airspace following a series of air incidents in NATO countries last year—from the flight of Russian fighter jets over Estonia to the penetration of drone swarms into Poland’s airspace.

“The issue is how to effectively counter relatively inexpensive missiles, drones, and other threats. We must balance the cost of the threat with the cost of defense measures,” Pollard said.

In November 2025, Ukraine and the United Kingdom signed a licensing agreement for the large-scale production of Octopus interceptor drones at British facilities. The manufactured interceptor drones will be delivered to Ukraine to strengthen its defense against Russian drones, which are being used to attack Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.

According to the plan, the UK will establish production of about 2,000 interceptor drones per month. Production was set to begin in January 2026, with the first deliveries to Ukraine expected in February.

Additionally, UK Defense Minister John Healey stated that these interceptor drones, produced in the UK, will form the basis of a European “drone wall” to counter Russian UAVs.

They are planned to be deployed along NATO allies’ borders to deter the increasingly frequent incursions of Russian aircraft and drones into Alliance airspace.

In the future, drones from the OCTOPUS project could also become part of the defense system to protect military facilities and critical infrastructure in the United Kingdom.