NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — There's a chance the dreaded buzz of propellers heard on Ukrainian battlefields is coming from drones built in a country with a population of just over a million on Europe's southeastern fringe: Cyprus.
Cyprus EU Defense
Manufacturer Swarmly says there are more than 200 of its H-10 Poseidon drones helping Ukrainian artillery batteries pinpoint enemy targets on the ground in all kinds of weather, racking up more than 100,000 hours in the air over the last three years.
Its 5,000-square-meter (54,000-square-foot) factory, where the whir of grinders shaping composite plastics reverberates off the walls, has become a major source of uncrewed vehicles shipped to countries such as Indonesia, Benin, Nigeria, India and Saudi Arabia, according to company officials. Most of the factory floor is reserved for uncrewed aerial vehicle manufacture. But tucked in a secure storage area is a selection of Swarmly's super-fast marine drones replete with high-definition cameras and .50-caliber machine guns.
Russia'sinvasion of Ukrainehas driven even the smallest European Union member countries to develop their home-grown, high-tech defense industries, just as necessity has made Kyiv a world leader in cutting-edge UAV technology. Many EU countries have partnered with Kyiv to develop that technology, and Ukraine's front lines are usually their testing grounds.
Like Cyprus, the Baltic countries and Denmark have revved up their domestic drone and counter-drone technology. In Greece, drones are part of a 25-billion euro ($29-billion) overhaul of its armed forces.
"The example of Swarmy, as well as other important companies based in small EU countries, is a testament to the serious effort made by the private sector in Europe to innovate and build mass production capacity of defense items, including uncrewed systems," said Federico Borsari, an expert with the Washington-based Center for European Policy Analysis.
Force Multipliers
UAVsare reshaping warfareby offering less militarily capable countries some leverage over superior adversaries. Drones aren't going to completely replace big-ticket weaponry like tanks, artillery and warplanes, said Borsari. But they offer flexibility and bang for the buck, making them a formidable force multiplier.
Take Swarmly's explosives-packed, satellite-guided Hydra marine drone. Each one costs 80,000 euros ($94,500), which means deploying a group of them to neutralize a billion-euro warship can be a bargain, said company director Gary Rafalovsky.
This sort of naval weapon taking out a much larger warship is already evidenced by Houthi attacks from Yemen, according to Fabian Hinz, a research fellow for missile technologies and UAVs at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Europe.
Barriers to entry for undercapitalized companies are low, he added, because UAVs are often designed and assembled from components cheaply and readily available on the global market.
"And that, of course, means that basically you don't have to have a great industrial investment at first that you need with other military capabilities. You don't need decades of experience in certain material sciences or these kinds of things," Hinz said.
Getting in the game
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In Denmark, a pair of companies focusing on anti-drone devices have reported a surge in new clients, and some of the devices were to be shipped to Ukraine to assist injamming Russian technologyon the battlefield. Ukraine in September said it was partnering with Danish companies to build missile and drone components at a factory in Denmark.
In the Baltic country of Lithuania, scientists and business partners have joined forces under the name VILNIUS TECH to develop UAVs, automated mine detection and other military technologies. The state-run ammunition factory Giraite says it has increased production capacity by 50% since 2022.
Greece for the first time showcased its homemadedrones and counter-drone technologyduring a full tactical exercise in November as NATO urged Europe's defense sector to pick up the pace.
"We need capabilities, equipment, real firepower and the most advanced technology," NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned during a visit to Romania earlier that month. "Bring your ideas, test your ingenuity and use NATO as your test bed."
Even as drone development accelerates, Borsari cautioned that the advantages of UAVs are often tempered by numerous variables like the harsh conditions in which they sometimes fly, operators' training and skill levels, as well as the depth of logistical support to keep them functional.
Europe goes into defense mode
Russia's war in Ukraine and the Trump administration's mixed messages that havestrained relations with NATO allieshave forced European leaders to reckon with the need to become more self-reliant on defense. So the EU hasmade billions of euros availableto encourage investment and bolster its collective deterrent capability.
That's been a boost to nations like Cyprus, which assumed the six-month EU presidency on Jan. 1. Last week, the EU's executive arm approved financial assistance for eight members including Spain, Croatia, Portugal, Bulgaria, Belgium, Romania and Cyprus.
Cyprus is set to receive final approval from EU leaders for some 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in low-cost, long-term loans under the EU's 150-billion-euro joint ($177-billion) procurement program called Security Action for Europe (SAFE).
Its nascent defense industry is already made up of around 30 companies and research centers that produce technology for both civilian and military sectors, including robotics, communications networks, anti-drone systems and even satellite communications and surveillance, said Panayiotis Hadjipavlis, chief of the armaments and defense capabilities development directorate within Cyprus' Defense Ministry.
"We have niche capabilities on very high-tech products and this has to be taken seriously into account," Hadjipavlis told The Associated Press in his office, where the helmet from his fighter pilot days hung on a nearby coat rack.
Major defense industry players, he added, are among those who should take note.
Associated Press writer Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Lithuania contributed.
