In a bid to end the problem of European Union nations procuring defence capabilities separately, the European Commission is trying to kickstart momentum with the participation of 18 member states – and Ukraine.
The European Commission has unveiled a slate of new large-scale defence projects to help member states strengthen their defence capabilities through teamwork.
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Presented on Friday, the five projects focus on drones and counter-drone systems, maritime and seabed defence, space, air power and missile defence.
Special emphasis will be placed on beefing up the continent's eastern flank. A series of drone incursions has lately prompted questions about how the nine countries spanning from Finland to Bulgaria can strengthen their ability to deter and respond to potential threats.
The Commission has allocated €325 million to support the establishment and deployment of the projects, with 18 member states participating in all of them and Ukraine participating in four.
The announcement follows renewed warnings from the European Defence Agency (EDA) that member states are continuing to buy military equipment largely on their own rather than together.
According to a recent EDA publication, collaborative procurement accounted for just 24 percent of defence investment in 2025 and remains “unevenly distributed” across countries and capability areas.
The agency said national approaches still dominate procurement decisions, while equipment acquisition and replacement cycles remain "largely unsynchronised", limiting opportunities for joint investment.
Last month, the long-hailed Franco-German Future Combat Air System fighter jet development program was scrapped after major commercial disputes between the two major companies behind it, Dassault and Airbus.
Despite this, European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño last week trumpeted a record-breaking €3 billion loan for aerospace giant Airbus to boost the company's commercial projects. The loan shows how Europe is "ramping up its capacity and strategic autonomy", she said.
European Commissioner for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said Europe must accelerate joint production and investment in defence, in turn demanding an injection of cash.
"There is a real need to move faster, produce together and invest in security. And that is exactly what we are doing," she said.
Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said the five joint projects will help improve the EU's military readiness while strengthening Europe's strategic autonomy.
"With a combined funding ambition of around €190 billion by 2036, they will play a key role in strengthening the member states' capabilities and keep Europe and Europeans safe," he said.
The Commission's announcement comes days before the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
The meeting is expected to focus on how allies intend to meet the alliance's new defence spending target of 3.5 percent of GDP by 2035, a commitment spearheaded by US President Donald Trump.