October 13 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia, together with 11 other NATO allies and Finland, intend to jointly enhance their air defence capabilities so as to strengthen the alliance's existing systems, NATO said on Thursday.
Defence ministers from the 14 NATO allies and Finland signed a letter of intent with the aim of setting up a European air and missile defence system, NATO said in a press release.
Initiated by Germany, the European Sky Shield Initiative will involve the common acquisition by the European nations of non-customised air defence equipment and missiles which will be fully interoperable and integrated with current air and missile defence systems. The multinational approach will contribute to enhancing the participating countries' current defence and deterrence capabilities.
"This commitment is even more crucial today, as we witness the ruthless and indiscriminate missile attacks by Russia in Ukraine, killing civilians and destroying critical infrastructure," NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana said.
The 14 NATO allies which signed the letter are Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania and the UK. Finland, together with Sweden, applied to join NATO in May.
There are currently 30 NATO members, which also include Greece, Turkey, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia.