European countries participating in the creation of the unified European air defense system, known as the European Sky Shield, will have the authority to independently decide which flying objects to shoot down over their territories. This statement was made by the Chancellor of Austria, Karl Nehammer, according to TASS.
“The decisions regarding which flying objects to intercept will be made independently. This was the main condition for participating in the European Sky Shield project,” he said during a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala.
On November 23, Israel signed a historic contract worth approximately $3.6 billion to sell the Arrow 3 air defense system to Germany.
Germany and 13 other NATO countries have signed a declaration to establish a European air defense system by the end of 2022. The countries intending to participate in the project include Belgium, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, the Czech Republic, and Estonia.
Austria later expressed its intention to join the project.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stated his hopes for the creation of a missile defense shield involving other European Union countries within the next five years.
Earlier, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, revealed the locations where Russia has strengthened its air defense system.
