NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has announced that the military alliance will expand and accelerate its ability to counter drones. 

The announcement comes after several European nations including Denmark, Poland and Romania reported aerial incursions over recent weeks. Copenhagen has described such incidents as part of a hybrid war conducted by Russia, a charge that Moscow has denied.

At Wednesday's gathering of defense ministers, Rutte said that efforts are underway to build upon NATO's existing counter-drone measures under its Eastern Sentry program.

"We are testing integrated systems that will help us detect, track, and neutralize aerial threats," Rutte said during a press conference at NATO's headquarters. 

"Innovation and adaptation are in this alliance's DNA. We will continue to learn from and cooperate with Ukraine, speed up our own innovation, deepen cooperation with the private sector, and more."

The European Union is expected to unveil further details of its proposed drone wall on Thursday, with the AFP news agency reporting that the project is set to be completed by the end of 2027. Germany has proposed taking a lead on the Air Defense Shield plan and has pledged significant investment in its drone capabilities. 

"We want to ensure that the many individual measures work together like clockwork," German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said during the NATO meeting. 

"And to achieve and guarantee this in the coming years, Germany will invest 10 billion euros [$11.6bn] in drones of all types and levels, both offensive and defensive, in accordance with the budget plans for the coming years."

Ukraine support 

Support for Ukraine was a major topic of discussion at Wednesday's meeting of defense ministers. NATO's chief said that 16 nations have now signed up to the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, a mechanism that allows allies to purchase U.S. weapons for Ukraine. 

Kyiv's allies are far short of supplying the $3.5 billion of help that Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy hoped to secure this month. He'll now be hoping for a positive update on his request for long-range Tomahawk missiles when he visits U.S. president Donald Trump in Washington on Friday. 

The Trump administration says it's committed to a policy of peace through strength.

"If this war does not end, if there is no path to peace in the short term, then the United States, along with our allies, will take the steps necessary to impose costs on Russia for its continued aggression," said U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. 

"If we must take this step, the U.S. War Department stands ready to do our part in ways that only the United States can do."