Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

AddedTesting facilities and intra-EU training

AddedTesting infrastructure and regulatory simplification

Added160. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to recognise the importance of testing drones and new technological developments in large open spaces, in order to ensure the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of such innovations; urges the Commission and the Member States to reduce unnecessary red tape and bureaucratic burdens, streamline testing procedures and facilitate the rapid deployment and evaluation of emerging drone technologies;

Added161. Encourages joint initiatives to ensure rapid access to testing infrastructure by reforming outdated regulatory barriers or outsourcing testing to enable trials in conditions replicating operational environments;

Added162. Regards regulations on UAS testing requirements in EW, long-range flights and non-standard frequencies as a particular obstacle to qualitative military advantage among Member States’ armed forces and encourages improved accessibility for proven innovators in UAS capabilities to ensure frequent and easy access to testing areas;

AddedInnovation units and AI-enabled training

Added163. Encourages Member States to support permanent innovation units and training across national security services where commercial technologies are tested in real operational settings and by end users;

Added164. Calls on the EU Military Staff (EUMS) and EDA to ensure joint training of AI-enabled UAS systems among the Member States and to support the procurement of AI UAS systems so that they can be trained and tested in operationally relevant conditions to perform effectively in real-world scenarios;

AddedJoint ranges, integration and interoperability

Added165. Encourages Member State cooperation in the joint establishment of NATO Innovation Ranges where armed forces and vendors can engage in year-round testing;

Added166. Proposes establishing an EU mechanism for integration and interoperability testing between selected unmanned and counter-unmanned systems, including cyber, electronic warfare, and rules of engagement (ROE) scenarios, producing verified integration profiles rather than technical demonstrations;

Added167. Calls on the Commission to include, within the framework of its Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreements, the need for the European drone industry and the Member States to secure sufficient reserves of the key materials and components essential for UAS development;

AddedCertifications

Added168. Calls on the EDA to develop multilingual, standardised operator certification pathways across all Member States;

Added169. Encourage modular system architectures, so components (e.g. payloads radios and cameras) can be upgraded independently without full platform re-certification;

AddedStandardisation

AddedTechnological standards, modularity and digital integration

Added170. Calls on the EDF to institutionalise in its research and development processes, rapid prototyping, modular design and digital-native C2 as a standard across development models;

Added171. Calls on the Commission to ensure that future regulations enable a safe, secure and scalable drone integration that focuses on cybersecurity, fail-safe systems and dual-use standardisation;

Added172. Encourages the adoption of a ‘commercial first’ approach for UAS that prioritises direct acquisition from commercial providers to test new acquisition models that can later be scaled across other capability areas;

Added173. Calls for dedicated UAS funding to be contingent upon broad mission-aligned categories to enable rapid problem-solving and support commercial innovation;

Added174. Calls on the EDA to launch a unified digital platform to manage end-to-end collaboration with the commercial sector, enabling real-time communication, proposal tracking and progress monitoring;

AddedInteroperability and operational frameworks

Added175. Notes the critical importance of rapid detection, attribution and neutralisation capabilities for unmanned systems and calls for a common EU framework for cross-border data sharing, interoperable situational awareness and joint targeting protocols to prevent and respond to incursions; stresses that such cooperation should include common standards for sensors and C2, coordinated procurement where appropriate, and mechanisms for the secure, real-time exchange of telemetry and incident reports to enable coordinated action across the Member States and with European NATO members; stresses the need to establish an EU-wide interoperability standard by mandating open modular standards for C-UAS systems under EDF-funded programmes to ensure ‘plug-and-play’ compatibility and reduce vendor lock-in; notes the importance of standardising operational requirements for Class I–III drones across the EU to enable joint purchases and interoperability based on a capability-focused categorisation that considers operational standards for drones of different operational uses that utilise EW integration and AI-assisted threat detection;

AddedRegulatory modernisation and aviation safety

Added176. Calls for an update of the aviation regulatory framework to ensure aviation safety in the light of the increasing use of drones and anti-drone infrastructure;

AddedArtificial intelligence

AddedTechnological advancement and strategic importance

Added177. Calls on the Commission to recognise the strategic importance of and further promote emerging technologies for the European drone industry, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence; recalls Operation Spiderweb and the technology employed by Ukrainian drones, which enabled these unmanned systems to autonomously identify and engage military targets; encourages the EDF to continue supporting and further developing programmes such as AIR-D-EPE in order to advance the research, testing, and deployment of AI-based solutions for the autonomous operation and navigation of drones;

Added178. Further recommends the design of scalable control algorithms that test swarm strategies and synthesise environments;

AddedOperational evolution and emerging risks

Added179. Recognises the speed at which drones are evolving in terms of integrating AI algorithms for real-time decision-making, obstacle avoidance and mission optimisation, enabling greater autonomy, precision and versatility; recognises, too, that once deployed in the battlefield, fully autonomous drones will significantly complicate matters for military and civil emergency planners at all levels, risking a further intensification of UAS threats such as fully autonomous drone swarms, deep-strikes and targeted assassinations;

AddedGovernance, ethics and international law

Added180. Calls on the Member States to ensure that the development and deployment of new warfare systems, including drones with autonomous capabilities, are strictly governed by international law, including international humanitarian law, and a human-in-the-loop principle to ensure meaningful human control over lethal force;

AddedDirect energy weapons

Added181. Encourages prioritising the development and production of solid-state batteries as a key enabler for next-generation drone and defence technologies;

Added182. Notes that these batteries offer higher energy density, longer lifespans, and faster charging speeds; underlines that their non-flammable solid electrolytes greatly enhance safety and reduce the risk of fire or explosion, making solid-state batteries vital to strengthening the EU’s technological autonomy and operational resilience;

Added183. Calls on the Commission, the EDA and the EDF to prioritise R&D in the field of advanced electronic warfare systems and directed-energy weapon technologies aimed at countering potential hybrid threats and drone attacks targeting Member States;

Added184. Further calls for fostering the development of counter-technologies and protective measures capable of mitigating the effects of such directed-energy weapons;

AddedAdditive manufacturing

Added185. Encourages the Member States to further explore low-cost options, including additive manufacturing, and calls for EDF R&D financing for UAS warhead capacity that aims to create new warheads and new chemical approaches for warheads focused on achieving weapon target match;

AddedSkill building

Added186. Recognises the role of the EUDIS Business Accelerator in streamlining the development and deployment of drone and C-UAS capabilities across the Member States via rapid prototyping, joint testing, and fast-track certification of new technologies to keep pace with evolving battlefield requirements;

Added187. Calls for the EUDIS to expand the operation of living labs to at least three Member States, with Ukraine as an associate partner;

Added188. Calls on the Commission to launch a public education campaign on the responsible use of technologies in defence, civilian protection, and legal accountability mechanisms in order to build legitimacy and ensure political support for drone expansion;

Added189. Calls for the implementation of student training programmes across Member States, coordinated with NATO and EDA, to support education in the field of flying drones, including technical skills and engineering knowledge, and foster public interest;

Added190. Encourages the Member States, Ukraine and the Commission to develop and implement actions aimed at enhancing skills in the field of developing and operating drones, including both software and hardware components, and at attracting talent from other deep tech sectors and supporting the creation of agile teams capable of designing, manufacturing and programming relevant software; stresses that this should include science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education initiatives, such as drone building workshops, webinars and hackathons, to train people in the construction and operation of drones; welcomes, in this regard, the initiatives already undertaken by the Commission, such as the EUDIS Hackathons and BraveTechEU, which aim to facilitate the development of innovative defence solutions and foster collaboration among stakeholders;

Best practices and doctrine

Change 4

Removed16. Invites the Commission, the EDA and Member States to launch a European defensive drone academy to train engineers, operators and technicians; calls for the academy to be able to offer joint degrees, vocational training and operator certification with industry and leading technical universities; stresses the need to include mandatory modules on AI, robotics, EW and cyber-resilience to meet operational standards;

AddedDeterrence and defence posture and Article 42.7

Removed17. Encourages the speedy alignment of doctrine and aggregation of demand for drones with Ukraine, to streamline the development and integration of drones;

Added191. Calls on the front line Member States to adopt strategic development plans and investment frameworks, and to define strategic programmes and projects aimed at developing and securing comprehensive drone and C-UAS capabilities within their territories, covering the entire capability cycle from research and development, testing and certification to production, deployment and training; underlines that such efforts should be supported, where appropriate, through EU instruments such as the EDF, the European Defence Industry Programme and the EU Rapid Deployment Capacity;

Removed18. Calls for the stockpiling of drone components and critical raw materials across the Member States, rather than complete systems, and for the creation of forwarddeployed repairandregeneration hubs, colocated with NATO depots, to ensure sustained operational readiness and rapid rotation of upgraded components;

Added192. Stresses that these measures are essential to ensure an adequate, coordinated and timely response to the evolving hybrid and conventional security challenges faced by Europe, in particular along its eastern and southern flanks;

Removed19. Calls on the EDA to establish a dedicated, flexible budget for UAS that spans the full capability lifecycle, with flexible requirements and appropriations to accelerate acquisition and fielding;

Added193. Calls for a tailored, risk-based approach to anti-drone capabilities across the EU that recognises differing operational needs; notes that while the eastern flank requires a mix of active counter-drone and offensive precision strike options to deny and deter ground-based threats in the event of an attempted invasion, other states, including Mediterranean ones, may require different capability priorities; urges the Commission and the Member States to ensure burden-sharing; asks the Commission to evaluate capability packages against regional threat profiles to maximise both effectiveness and delivery speed without undermining overall European interoperability;

Removed20. Recommends that the Member States, particularly frontline states, adopt missile and drone launch detection systems that can transmit information across the EU to serve as a ‘shield’ for Europe’s multi-layered aerial defence capabilities;

Added194. Calls on the Member States to be ready to activate Article 42(7) TEU where aggressive actions amount to an armed attack, or contribute to preparing for an imminent attack;

Removed21. Recommends the co-financing of regular training and technical expertise development across service academies and military colleges via the EDA, which sponsors technical capability-building blocks via joint training;

Added195. Urges the EU and its Member States to define operational procedures and mechanisms in the event of a Member State triggering Article 42(7) TEU;