Austria, a neutral state, announced on Saturday its intention to join the European Sky Shield initiative launched in October 2022 by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the context of the war in Ukraine, AFP and Agerpres reported.

“We must and will take precautions to protect our country from the risk of drone or missile attacks,” Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehhammer said in a statement, referring to a “threat that has significantly worsened.”

According to him, this decision does not call into question the neutrality of Austria, which is not a member of NATO, but has been a member of the European Union since 1995.

“No European nation can effectively defend its airspace alone in the face of new threats,” the chancellor said, while Defense Secretary Claudia Tanner hailed the “important milestone in the history” of the country.

So far, 17 states have expressed interest in this future “shield of the European sky”, 16 of which are NATO members, such as Great Britain, the Baltic states, Belgium, Finland, Norway and Sweden, a candidate for NATO membership. Alliance.

It is about joint procurement for a full range of anti-aircraft systems based on the German Iris-T for short range, the American Patriot for medium range and the American-Israeli Arrow-3 system for long range.

France, Italy and Poland are not part of the initiative, Paris advocates a sovereign air defense with European equipment.