European Sky Shield Initiative

European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) is a project to build a ground-based integrated European air defence system which includes anti-ballistic missile capability. twenty-one European states participate in the initiative. Poland is expected to join in 2024.

Background
The initiative was originally proposed by the Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz in August 2022. The proposal was made during the 2022–2023 Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure and amid increased concerns about the limited European capability to defend against such threats as the Russian 9K720 Iskander ballistic missile systems deployed in Kaliningrad.

In October 2022, fifteen European states (Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, the United Kingdom) signed a declaration to join the German-led initiative. It would involve joint procurement of the air defence systems. As of 2024, all founding states are members of NATO, with Finland's accession into the alliance occurring in 2023. The initiative also aims to strengthen the NATO Integrated Air Defence System. In February 2024, the German government announced that Greece and Turkey would join the initiative.

In February 2023, Denmark and Sweden joined the project. In July 2023, neutral states Austria and Switzerland signed the declaration to join the initiative, raising questions about the future and practicalities of their policy of neutrality.

France has been challenging the initiative, citing too much reliance in current plans on non-European equipment and technology. It was suggested that the French government is dissatisfied that the French-Italian SAMP-T system is excluded from ESSI. In June 2023, France made a counter-proposal and has been calling for other countries to examine the alternatives. several major European states, namely France, Poland, Italy, and Spain did not make a decision to join the ESSI. In April 2024, Poland plans to join a project to develop a European-wide air defense system to deter potential drone and missile attacks, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

Capability
The ESSI will use multi-layered defence, with the following systems planned:
 * Medium range: primarily IRIS-T SLM
 * Long range: MIM-104 Patriot
 * Very long range (exoatmospheric): Arrow 3

In December 2022, the German Chancellor expressed a hope that the system will be developed in the next five years. In June 2023, the German Bundestag authorized nearly €4 billion for the acquisition of Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system from Israel. The contract was signed in November 2023.