Overview

• Germany’s top general, Carsten Breuer, says the Bundeswehr will conduct first live firings of loitering munitions by year’s end and is accelerating drone‑on‑drone defenses, alongside procurement of Skyranger systems and exploring “drone as a service” contracts.
• NATO has reinforced Eastern Sentry air policing after recent violations, with allied jets shooting down several intruding drones over Poland and Estonia reporting three Russian MiG‑31s inside its airspace for about twelve minutes.
• EU leaders are advancing a multilayered “Dronewall” concept, with officials discussing timelines of roughly twelve months, while Poland and Ukraine formalize training so Polish troops can learn Ukraine’s combat‑tested drone defense tactics.
• Ukraine reports Russia continues mass strikes using cheap loitering systems, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyj citing about 40 missiles and roughly 580 drones launched in the latest overnight attacks that caused casualties and infrastructure damage.
• Industry and militaries are trialing lower‑cost countermeasures, including a German naval laser demonstrator that disrupted drone controls in tests, while Ukrainian firms tout interceptor‑drone successes that remain without independent verification.