Media: EU prioritises traditional weapons over drones, AI

The European Union is primarily funding the development of traditional weapon systems rather than advanced military technologies such as drones and artificial intelligence (AI).

According to European Commission data, less than €400 million has been allocated since 2021 for EU projects related to AI and unmanned aerial systems, Financial Times (FT) reports.

In contrast, €1.49 billion has been directed toward developing “traditional defence capabilities” — including land, air and naval systems, as well as air-defence technologies.

“We were surprised by the figures. If you look at the battlefields in Ukraine, drones and AI solutions play a major role there, Europe still seems to be spending a lot on traditional weapon systems. We will have to see whether this is still appropriate in this day and age,” Daniel Freund, a Green lawmaker who is leading parliament negotiations on discharging the commission’s 2024 budget, said.

The newspaper notes that the EU has increased its defence spending through the European Defence Fund and other programmes.

European Commission figures indicate that defence spending drawn from the EU budget has increased from €1.24 billion in 2021 to €2.29 billion in 2024.

France recorded the largest number of beneficiaries of these defence funds, with Spain, Germany and Italy following.

By Jeyhun Aghazada