Moldova seeks interceptor drones, Sandu urges new defense laws

Maia Sandu said Moldova urgently needed high-technology interceptor drones and new laws to make them easier to produce, arguing that a neutral country could not afford to stay exposed as Russian drones crossed its airspace and debris fell near its border. Speaking in a podcast with a local blogger, Sandu pushed Chisinau to modernize a defense system that has been forced to confront a war next door without becoming a battlefield itself.

The danger was already plain. Moldova’s military took no action in more than 20 incidents in which Russian drones entered Moldovan airspace or debris landed near settlements. In late November 2025, Moldova temporarily closed its airspace on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29 after drones crossed into the country during a Russian strike on Ukraine, and the government later said six drones had breached its airspace around that period. Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign-policy chief, called the violations unacceptable and a threat to civilian air traffic.

Sandu went further than calling for better defenses. She said the government should prepare legal amendments that would allow public-private partnerships in weapons development and open the door to foreign investment in the sector. That would mark a significant shift for Moldova, whose constitution defines the republic as a neutral state and does not allow the stationing of foreign troops on its territory.

The pressure to move faster has also pushed Moldova toward Ukraine, where the military and defense industry have become a reference point for interceptor-drone expertise after more than four years of war. Sandu said Moldova had already begun consultations with Kyiv on drone development and said, “Ukrainians are the best in terms of interceptor drones.” Officials in Chisinau have also been weighing anti-drone and electronic jamming capabilities, reflecting the view that Moldova lacks the technology and specialized expertise to handle the threat alone.

The stakes extend beyond border security. Moldova became a European Union candidate country in June 2022 and formally opened accession negotiations in June 2024, making air defense part of its wider European integration agenda. With Romania, a NATO member, just across the border, the debate has become a test of how a small state on Europe’s eastern frontier can build enough industrial capacity and legal flexibility to survive the war’s spillover without abandoning neutrality.