Sandu: Moldova eyes private investors for military drone production
Moldova could soon launch domestic production of military drones and jamming systems to counter growing aerial threats.
President Maia Sandu announced that the government is amending legislation to allow private sector involvement and foreign investment in the defense industry.
The defense push comes as Russia intensifies its hybrid warfare operations across the region.
Legal reforms for defense partnerships
Currently, Moldova lacks the domestic technology and specialized expertise required to intercept unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
To bridge this gap, authorities plan to attract international partners through public-private partnerships, a move requiring immediate structural changes to national laws.
"We must strengthen our anti-drone system and the jamming system. These are two elements currently being worked on," President Sandu stated in a recent interview.
"We need to start producing anti-drone systems, and drones that can intercept and shoot down other drones. I have asked the Government, especially in the context of recent events, to prepare legislative amendments because, while the state must produce these drones or anti-drone systems, we must also allow the private sector to participate," Sandu added.
Regional security and cognitive warfare
The state may also seek tactical expertise from neighboring Ukraine to accelerate the development of its domestic defense sector.
Beyond hardware, Sandu warned that Moscow is expanding its interference in Moldova’s democratic processes through institutional infiltration and aggressive propaganda.
"The Russian army is failing to advance on the Ukrainian front, but Russian propaganda is succeeding in conquering people's minds, and cognitive war is very dangerous, it is harder to see, to understand, but it is very dangerous," Sandu concluded.
Moldovan airspace has been violated repeatedly by Russian drones since the launch of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Several UAVs, some carrying explosives, have crashed on Moldovan territory.
In one of the most severe recent incidents, on May 13, a Russian Shahed-type drone illegally crossed the entire national territory from north to south.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
