Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

AddedEU-wide UAS standardisation

Added244. Calls for EU-wide UAS standardisation, continued aerial worthiness to eventually be made obligatory, and Open-Earth-Monitor Cyberinfrastructure and EMAR to be necessary while fully respecting Member States’ sovereignty and ensuring that such requirements do not create unnecessary administrative burdens or impede innovation and the growth of SMEs;

Added245. Calls on the Commission to monitor, using EU trade instruments, the proliferation of drone manufacturers that apply opaque data-handling practices; invites the development of a regulatory framework to ensure the full traceability of hardware and software technologies employed by drones operating within the EU;

AddedExpanding testing grounds

Added246. Calls for the expansion of certified testing grounds for training on and integration of drone capabilities, where industry and armed forces can rapidly co-develop, test and iterate drone solutions in operational conditions;

Added247. Calls on the Commission to provide adequate financing for capacity and infrastructure building of these sites to achieve their optimal innovation potential; encourages the inclusion of SMEs and start-ups to accelerate R&D to strengthen Europe’s technological edge;

Added248. Recognises that the gradual integration of drone capabilities into multinational units, such as the recent incorporation of a counter-drone element into NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence brigade in Latvia, serve as a model for future force development; calls for greater use of existing certified testing grounds for training and integration; stresses that operators require access to secure ranges, simulation environments and live-fire exercises to train in swarm tactics, counter-UAS and autonomous targeting; notes that joint European centres, drawing on the Canada-led Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) battalion’s operational experience with drones on the eastern flank, would enhance cross-country training options, interoperability, doctrinal convergence and efficiency across the EU;

Added249. Encourages the Commission, in consultation with the Member States, to simplify regulations for unpopulated test areas to enable testing in line with common safety standards; encourages the incorporation of AI-enabled simulation and real-world exercises to ensure technology readiness and doctrinal relevance;

Added250. Encourages the Commission to reduce administrative burdens, if necessary, in order to streamline procedures in line with the provisions of the Defence Readiness Omnibus;

Added251. Notes that drones made in Europe must be tested in real wartime conditions such as in Ukraine;

Added252. Recommends the financing and building of an EDA managed ‘defence metaverse’ for simulated drone combat (naval and aerial), beginning with particle-based simulations and then moving towards high-resolution environments;

Added253. Recommends the development and frequent evaluation of intelligent coordination strategies for drone swarms using simulation environments supported by high performance computing;

Added254. Recognises that high performance computing infrastructure with graphics processing unit clusters and parallel processing are required for testing and synthesising drone swarms, and that scalability requires scalable computation; recommends, therefore, financing for the EDA to prioritise training in this field;

Added255. Emphasises the need for stronger civil-military airspace coordination, notably through the integration of drones into U-space corridors under the Single European Sky initiative; supports the expansion of joint simulation and interception exercises involving civilian, law enforcement and military actors to enhance preparedness for multi-domain threats; underlines that such exercises should be conducted on an annual mandatory basis to ensure sustained readiness and interoperability;

AddedThreat monitoring platform

Added256. Recommends the establishment of a European hybrid-threat monitoring platform for unmanned systems, hosted by the EU Hybrid Fusion Cell and coordinated with the EUMS under the EU Single Intelligence Analysis Capacity;

Added257. Stresses that the platform should deliver strategic alerts to the Council’s Political and Security Committee, with military input from the Council’s European Union Military Committee and the EU’s Military Planning and Conduct Capability, and be interoperable with, and informed by, the expertise of NATO, its Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, and Member State early warning systems; underlines the need to keep Parliament’s stakeholders regularly informed to guarantee proper oversight and enable evidence-based policymaking;

Added258. Underlines that front line EU Member States should leverage their regional expertise and strategic positioning to enhance situational awareness and operational effectiveness;

Added259. Calls for the deployment of an EU-wide situational awareness layer action by funding an integrated UAS tracking and threat database, modelled on NATO IAMD systems designed to improve detection, coordination and civilian protection across borders;

Added260. Calls on the Member States to designate a national C-UAS operations centre to ensure round-the-clock coordination and interoperable data sharing among competent authorities, including civil aviation and air navigation services, law-enforcement, defence, intelligence, border and coast guards, civil protection authorities and critical-infrastructure operators, and with other Member States, based on common or open interfaces, harmonised reporting formats and robust legal and privacy frameworks;

Added261. Recognises the ‘Danish model’ as best practice for the Member States to emulate in order to enhance the acquisition of cutting-edge weapons systems at the lowest price point available, while supporting the Ukrainian economy and stimulating faster research and development from the firms best positioned to innovate according to battlefield realities;

Added262. Highlights the opportunity for the Member States to allow for the production of defence capabilities through joint procurement and industrial cooperation with Ukrainian companies;

Added263. Encourages joint UAS experimentation between the EUMS and UAF that permits a streamlined pathway for European-level integration that accommodates scalability, interoperability, and utilises Ukraine’s strengths in modular, low-cost solutions, digital-native C2 and field-driven innovation;

AddedCo-development of EW & counter-electronic warfare capabilities

Added264. Recognises that the intensification of EW in Ukraine has triggered a race in ‘barrage jamming’ capabilities, demonstrating the need for armed forces to overcome this challenge by jointly developing EW capabilities that can overcome anti-drone guns, frequency hopping, offline modes and other evasive manoeuvres;

AddedC2 systems

Added265. Encourages investment in the creation of effective, efficient and EW-resistant matrix wireless data transmission communication methods, in order to allow for effective C2 on a battlefield expected to be flooded with unmanned flying vehicles and unmanned ground vehicles which require effective wireless data to function;

Added266. Calls on the Commission and the EDA to prioritise the integration of the GOVSATCOM and IRIS² programmes for reliable, secure and cost-effective satellite communications supporting EU defence missions and drone C2 links;

Added267. Urges targeted EDF investment in low-latency, high-bandwidth satellite terminals and resilient communications payloads to ensure real-time data transmission and protection against interference, interception and jamming;

Added268. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to establish interoperable C3 standards which integrate manned and unmanned systems across EU and NATO frameworks;

Added269. Encourages EDF and EDIP support for unified, secure architectures using AI and cloud-based data fusion to enable coordinated, real-time multi-platform operations while ensuring human oversight and cybersecurity;

EU-NATO cooperation in counter-drone warfare

Change 5

Removed25. Calls for the creation of a joint EU-NATO drone centre of excellence in a frontline state with ongoing NATO Enhanced Forward Presence, active testing facilities and an active drone manufacturing hub to streamline joint exercises and interchangeability across the Member States;

AddedEU-NATO drone centre of excellence

Removed26. Calls for the institutionalisation of Ukraine-NATO-EU knowledge transfer programmes via rotational staff exchanges with Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and by expanding joint training programmes under the EDA, focused on real-world drone survivability and innovation lessons;

Added270. Calls for the creation of a joint EU-NATO drone centre of excellence in a front line state with ongoing NATO Enhanced Forward Presence, active testing facilities and an active drone manufacturing hub to streamline joint exercises and interchangeability across the Member States;

Removed27. Calls for the establishment of a permanent EU-NATO drone coordination cell to bridge doctrinal and operational gaps between EU and NATO operations with a permanent joint coordination cell within the European Union Military Staff with a mandate to synchronise drone doctrine, prioritise capability integration, and facilitate real-time information sharing between EU CSDP missions and NATO operations;

Added271. Calls for the EU-NATO drone centre of excellence to cooperate with the PESCO project on military mobility and the European Air Transport Command to develop joint standards for the transport, refuelling and deployment of unmanned systems via military mobility corridors;

Removed28. Calls for a unified EU-NATO UAS interoperability standard designed for common communication protocols, classification systems for UAS/C-UAS, and data-sharing formats designed to be binding for all CSDP missions and synchronised with NATO’s C-UAS doctrine to ensure seamless coordination in joint operations;

Added272. Underlines that such a centre must have a 360-degree approach, avoid duplication with existing NATO structures and focus on the rapid transfer of lessons learned from Ukraine;

Removed29. Calls for EU-NATO cooperation in implementing NATO’s Rapid Adoption Action Plan aimed at accelerating national procurement processes; encourages efforts to reform acquisition cycles, testing protocols, and certification frameworks, ensuring that military innovation keeps pace with the threat environment;

Added273. Proposes the creation, by 2027, of a network of EU centres of excellence for drone operations, each specialising in a domain (e.g. loitering munitions, swarms, motherships, tactical UAS, maritime drones and counter-UASs), pooling national expertise and aligning with NATO centres of excellence and the EDA’s harmonised certification scheme;

AddedUkraine-NATO-EU knowledge transfer programmes

Added274. Calls for the institutionalisation of Ukraine-NATO-EU knowledge transfer programmes through rotational staff exchanges with UAF personnel and through the expansion of joint training programmes under the EUMS and its EU Cell at SHAPE; recommends the establishment of a permanent, jointly-funded EU-NATO-Ukraine training and logistics hub in a front line state to streamline operational planning, logistics and maintenance, with a focus on real-world drone survivability and innovation lessons;

Added275. Calls for EU-NATO cooperation in institutionalising the lessons learned from Ukraine’s battlefield experience by integrating doctrinal and technological innovations in modern combat conditions, in cooperation with the European Security and Defence College and the EUMS;

Added276. Invites the Member States to consider their engagement in training missions in Ukraine in order to fully absorb the expertise and innovative techniques possessed by the UAF;

Added277. Recommends that this cooperation should also include the exchange of operational experience on integrating drone units as independent branches of the armed forces, as recently demonstrated by Ukraine’s establishment of the Unmanned Systems Forces;

Added278. Calls for synergy between EU cooperation with Ukraine and the NATO-Ukraine Innovation Cooperation Roadmap as a key means of establishing closer ties between research institutions and defence industries, streamlining innovation pipelines and enabling rapid prototyping and deployment of drone-related systems;

Added279. Calls for annual joint drone doctrine integration exercises across CSDP operations and EU Battlegroups, coordinated through the Military Planning and Conduct Capability and evaluated in partnership with NATO’s Joint Force Command and Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre, to ensure doctrinal compatibility and operational realism;

Added280. Recommends launching joint EU-NATO exercises on drone swarm defence, electronic warfare resilience, low-cost kinetic effectors and directed-energy systems at multinational test ranges, with structured EU observer status and reciprocal access for EU-led initiatives;

Added281. Encourages the integration of UAS and C-UAS technologies into the structure of the EUMS and the Member States’ standing military exercises;

AddedEU-NATO drone coordination cell

Added282. Calls for the establishment of a permanent EU-NATO drone coordination cell to bridge doctrinal and operational gaps between EU and NATO operations, with a permanent joint coordination cell within the EUMS tasked with synchronising drone doctrine, prioritising capability integration, and facilitating real-time information sharing between EU CSDP missions and NATO operations;

AddedEstablishing joint interoperability standards

Added283. Calls for a unified EU-NATO UAS interoperability standard designed for common communication protocols, classification systems for UAS/C-UAS, and data sharing formats designed to be binding for all CSDP missions and synchronised with NATO’s C-UAS doctrine to ensure seamless coordination in joint operations; stresses the importance of close cooperation between NATO and the EU to take advantage of the complementary roles of both organisations in strengthening Europe’s defence and deterrence; calls, in particular, on the Commission to propose legally binding instruments to ensure that NATO standards are followed;

Added284. Insists that EDF, EDIP and ReArm Europe funding be conditional on strict compliance with these standards to avoid vendor lock-in and maximise plug-and-play compatibility; encourages following the results of the Preparatory Action for Defence Research 2019 INTERACT – INTERoperability Standards for Unmanned Armed Forces Systems project as a best practice reference;

Added285. Calls for the institutionalisation of drone integration into CSDP missions, the establishment of joint interoperability standards with NATO, and the deployment of a layered defence approach to counter-UAS threats;

Added286. Recommends institutionalising joint C-UAS Testing at CSDP and NATO installations and innovation ranges;

Added287. Calls for the EU Sky Shield initiative to integrate C-UAS capabilities within the broader architecture of the European IAMD system;

Added288. Calls for the introduction of a CSDP ‘responsible use of technologies in defence’ framework, with input from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, focusing on civilian harm mitigation, data protection, and accountability mechanisms;