European Sky Shield Initiative

The European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) is a project to build a ground-based integrated European air defence system with anti-ballistic missile capability, involving 22 European states as of July 2024. The initiative was proposed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in August 2022 in response to Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure and concerns about European air defence capabilities. The project aims to strengthen the NATO Integrated Air Defence System and involves joint procurement of air defence systems, with several European states, including France, Poland, Italy, and Spain, still undecided about joining. The ESSI will use multi-layered defence systems, including the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system, and is expected to be developed over the next five years.learn more on wikipedia