EU Announces Pilot European Drone Technology Hubs in Latvia and the Netherlands for 2027
European Commission Commissioner Dombrovskis announced pilot drone and counter-drone technology hubs to launch in 2027, announced alongside NATO's DiBaX 2026 connectivity experiments.
The European Commission will pilot European Drone Technology Hubs in Latvia and the Netherlands starting in 2027, Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis announced, as venues for developing and testing drone and counter-drone capabilities in cooperation with NATO. The announcement was reported on November 1 alongside coverage of NATO's DiBaX 2026 program, which explores 5G and satellite links to keep forces connected when terrestrial infrastructure is disrupted.
DiBaX 2026 closed together with NATO FUSE, a field experiment series testing resilient communications under contested conditions. Taken together, the initiatives institutionalize Europe's drone and counter-UAS ecosystem, providing shared test infrastructure and interoperability standards. The model is being watched by countries drafting their own defense UAV roadmaps, including Indonesia, where the Defense Ministry has flagged drone acceleration steps covering interoperability standards and a national data and AI ecosystem.