Drone Security Index

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has fundamentally changed the nature of modern warfare, demonstrating the strategic impact of the widespread use of unmanned systems. Relatively inexpensive drones can cause significant damage to civilians, armed forces, critical infrastructure, and national economies. Despite growing awareness of this threat across Europe, countries still lack a common methodology for systematically incorporating Ukraine's battlefield experience into defence, security, and resilience planning.

The Drone Security Index is an initiative by New Age Defence and BRDO aimed at developing such a practical methodology. The Index will assess countries' readiness to counter drone-related threats across four areas: prevention, detection, response, and recovery. It will help identify specific capability gaps, assess preparedness for different scenarios — from limited incidents to high-intensity emergencies — and define adaptation priorities for governments and the defence industry.

Germany has been selected as the pilot country due to its key role in NATO's collective defence architecture. Based on publicly available information and consultations with government, military, academic, and industry experts, Germany's level of preparedness will be assessed, followed by the development of its Drone Security Index and practical recommendations covering 1–2-year and 3–5-year horizons. Once validated, the methodology is intended to become an open pan-European analytical platform where countries can conduct and compare national assessments. A central element of the platform will be an interactive scenario map illustrating the potential impact of drone-related threats on military readiness, critical infrastructure, the defence industry, and societal resilience.