An early look into Estonia’s plan to deploy a ‘drone wall’ by 2027
PIUSA, Estonia — As part of a large-scale security and modernization campaign sparked by the invasion of Ukraine, the Estonian government is moving to set up and deploy a “drone wall” across its entire eastern border with Russia by the end of 2027.
This massive, in-the-works fortification will include a combination of surveillance assets, multilayer sensors, countermeasure platforms, and uncrewed systems that can take out hostile enemy drones across the roughly 183-mile border, which also marks a major boundary shared between Russia and the NATO alliance.
Members of Estonia’s Police and Border Guard Board briefed DefenseScoop and others participating in the country’s Defence Study Programme on their unfolding drone wall development aims during a tour of multiple locations Tuesday. The officials were granted anonymity to speak freely about the effort.
“In 2027, there should be a so-called drone wall on the borderline. It consists of different equipment that can detect these low-flying objects. And then, if we know where the drone is, we can use it and take it out,” a border patrol officer told DefenseScoop.
While police and border agents are behind the launch of this new technology-driven security system, they’ll work closely with their counterparts in the Estonian Defence Forces regarding the detections and mitigation actions they’ll take in response to incidents.
Estonia’s Defense League also recently established a new dedicated drone warfare unit.
In many ways, the envisioned drone wall was inspired by Estonia’s allies in Ukraine, who — although outnumbered — have successfully countered a variety of Russian advances with a mix of weapons, electronic warfare and drones since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
“The new thing is drones. Our aim is that every car on patrol must have a drone with them, and every police officer or border guard officer has to have the capability to operate the drone — because we see the drone as flying binoculars. For us, it just expands the range of the patrol very much,” a second border patrol officer said.
“Right now, we have the small drones. But in the future, we’ll also have the specialized unit, which has bigger drones, and this fixed-wing drone, which looks like a small plane. They have special training — and if we need to see something further away, we call them, and they come and make the video,” he added.
A Chinese-made DJI drone was on display during the tour. Despite security concerns amplified by the U.S., the officials said that specific product has performed repeatedly well for their missions. The systems are also hosted on a network that doesn’t interfere with Estonia’s more sensitive and exquisite capabilities.
The officials also showed off recently acquired equipment that can completely knock out enemy or criminal drones.
“It can jam the signal from the operator to the drone and also jam the GPS. So it’s quite powerful, and our Fast Response Unit, who is also stationed in this building, has made some training with it, and it really works on the drone. The drone comes down,” a border patrol officer said.
“I had the training just to see if it really works. So maybe the drone was approximately 200 or 300 meters away. And yeah, it worked — because there were lots of us, and everyone wanted to practice,” another officer told DefenseScoop.
The team said they haven’t taken out any Russian unmanned aerial systems near the border to date, noting they’re in need of new systems that enable drone detection and tracking.
“We have little or no cases this year. But, we have found people who were lost in the forest actually,” using drones and other surveillance assets, a border patrol officer noted.
The new drone wall is estimated to cost the nation up to €20 million, once completed.
