The government will consider additional funding for combating drones during upcoming budget negotiations, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) told Yle on Sunday.
According to Orpo, the public does not need to worry about drones that have fallen in Finland in recent weeks. He stressed that the country has significantly strengthened its countermeasures against drones.
The readiness level of the Border Guard, Defence Forces and police, among others, has been heightened, he noted.
Four drones have been found in Finland in recent weeks, all apparently Ukrainian. The most recent discovery was on Saturday in Iitti. In March, three drones were found elsewhere in southeast Finland following a series of Ukrainian attacks that disrupted Russian oil ports across the Gulf of Finland.
Orpo says that the country has better capabilities to detect and counter any possible drone waves in the future.
"The authorities have analysed the events carefully, and there are no acute concerns," he said.
Orpo also said that the process of informing local residents will be faster and more open than before. In his view, communications have been handled successfully in the Iitti case, including dialogue between state leaders and other authorities and information provided to the public.
After the previous incidents, the PM called for improvements in such communications.
More funds for drone defences?
According to Orpo, the cabinet will consider allocating more funds to combat drones during budget talks on 21–22 April. He said this will focus on Border Guard resources.
Finland already has ongoing projects worth hundreds of millions of euros to improve drone detection and countermeasure capabilities.
"We still evaluate whether there are any acute shortcomings and needs and try to find funding for them within the budget framework," he said.
On Friday, the parliamentary finance committee announced that Finland is applying for 35 million euros in additional funding from the European Commission for equipment that would help prevent drones from entering its territory.
Finland is also developing an air threat warning system based on the Ukrainian model. Drone alerts should be available on Finnish residents’ phones sometime next year.
"We’re now trying to bring this forward by all means," the premier added.
Ukraine urged to avoid collateral damage
Orpo pledged that the government is doing all that it can to ensure that no new drone incidents occur.
"We have communicated to Ukraine that it must do its utmost in its own military operations to ensure that drones do not end up in Finland," he said. So far no injuries of or major damage have been reported from the drone crashes.
Since Russia began its full-scale invasion just over four years ago, Finland has provided Ukraine with some four billion euros’ worth of military and other forms of assistance.