Defence ministers and deputy ministers from Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland said in a statement that the Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms (LEAP) initiative would help "improve our collective security" within NATO while strengthening European cooperation.

Drones have become ubiquitous and decisive in the war triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine four years ago, forcing a rethink of air defence systems.

Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz noted that drone systems had "revolutionized" the war in Ukraine and had already led to "changes in armaments strategies".

The proliferation of drones along the front line -- and increasingly -- deep behind it, has forced a recalibration of air defence systems. It is not cost-effective to use expensive missiles to shoot down drones, requiring the development of new, cheaper systems.

At a press conference, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the aim of the project was to "rapidly and cheaply develop innovative systems, in particular for defence against drones, and then just as rapidly produce them in large numbers".

UK minister of state, Luke Pollard, ho is responsible for the defence industry, said each member of the group has made a "multi-million" dollar commitment to advance the technology needed to start producing components of the new system "within 12 months".

Also on Friday, the ministers agreed to "assume greater responsibility" to ensure the continent's security by working toward a "more European NATO".

At a summit in The Hague last year, and under pressure from the US administration, NATO members pledged to raise defence spending to five percent of their national GDP by 2025, up from a previous target of two percent.

At the conference, the ministers emphasized the need for "a fair sharing of the burden among Allies," which has long caused divisions between Europe and the United States.

"We will work toward a more European NATO, strengthening the state of readiness of European defence," they said in a joint statement.

Poland, the largest country on NATO's eastern flank, borders Russia and its close ally, Belarus. It it NATO's largest spender in relative terms, allocating 4.48% of GDP to defence last year.