NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — There’s a chance the dreaded propeller noise heard on Ukrainian battlefields is coming from drones built in a country of just over a million people on Europe’s southeastern edge: Cyprus.
Maker Swarmly says there are more than 200 of its H-10 Poseidon drones helping Ukrainian artillery batteries pinpoint enemy ground targets in all types of weather, logging more than 100,000 hours in the air over the past three years.
Its 5,000-square-meter (54,000-square-foot) factory, where the sound of grinding machines shaping the composite plastic reverberates off the walls, has become a major source of unmanned vehicles shipped to countries including Indonesia, Benin, Nigeria, India and Saudi Arabia, according to company officials. Most of the factory floor is reserved for the manufacture of unmanned aerial vehicles. But tucked away in a secure storage area is a selection of super-fast marine drones from Swarmly, complete with high-definition cameras and .50-caliber machine guns.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted even the smallest member states of the European Union to develop their domestic high-tech defense industries, just as necessity has made Kiev a world leader in cutting-edge UAV technology. Many EU countries have partnered with Kiev to develop this technology, and Ukraine’s front line is usually their testing ground.
Like Cyprus, the Baltic countries and Denmark have accelerated their domestic drone and counter-drone technology. In Greece, the drones are part of a 25 billion euro ($29 billion) overhaul of its armed forces.
“The example of Swarmy, as well as other major companies based in small EU countries, is evidence of the serious effort made by the private sector in Europe to innovate and build the capacity to mass produce defense items, including unmanned systems,” said Federico Borsari, an expert at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington.
Force multipliers
UAVs are reshaping warfare, giving less militarily capable countries some leverage over superior adversaries. Drones won’t completely replace big weapons like tanks, artillery and warplanes, Borsari said. But they offer flexibility and advantages, making them a formidable force multiplier.
Take Swarmly’s explosive-laden, satellite-guided Hydra marine drone. Each costs 80,000 euros ($94,500), meaning deploying a group of them to neutralize a billion-euro warship can be a bargain, said company director Gary Rafalovsky.
This type of naval weapon that destroys a much larger warship is already evidenced by Houthi attacks in Yemen, according to Fabian Hinz, a researcher for missile and UAV technologies 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 that are cheap and readily available on the global market.
“And that, of course, means that you basically don’t have to have the big industrial investment up front that you need with other military capabilities. You don’t need decades of experience in certain material sciences or things like that,” Hinz said.
Getting into the game
In Denmark, a pair of companies focusing on anti-drone devices reported an increase in new customers, and some of the devices were to be shipped to Ukraine to help block Russian technology on the battlefield. In September, Ukraine 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, automatic mine detection and other military technologies. The state-run Giraite munitions factory says it has increased its production capacity by 50% from 2022.
Greece first showcased its home-made drones and counter-drone technology during a full tactical exercise in November, when NATO asked Europe’s defense sector to step 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 a testbed.”
Even as drone development accelerates, Borsari cautioned that UAVs’ advantages are often tempered by numerous variables, such as the harsh conditions they sometimes fly in, the training and skill levels of operators, and the depth of logistical support to keep them operational.
Europe goes into defense mode
Russia’s war in Ukraine and mixed messages from the Trump administration that have strained relations with NATO allies have forced European leaders to consider the need to become more self-reliant in defense. So the EU has made billions of euros available to encourage investment and strengthen its capacity for collective deterrence.
That was a boost for nations like Cyprus, which took over the EU’s six-month presidency on January 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 around 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in long-term, low-cost loans under the EU’s 150 billion euro ($177 billion) joint procurement program called Security Action for Europe (SAFE).
Its nascent defense industry already consists of about 30 companies and research centers that produce technology for both the civilian and military sectors, including robotics, communications networks, anti-drone systems and even satellite communications and surveillance, said Panayiotis Hadjipavlis, head of the Cyprus Defense Ministry’s arms and defense capabilities development directorate.
“We have niche capabilities for high-tech products and that needs to be taken seriously,” Hadjipavlis told The Associated Press in his office, where his 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.
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Associated Press writer Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Lithuania contributed.