Freyja and the making of a European defense industry

In signaling a sharper focus on common European security, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's September 16, 2026, State of the Union address was unsurprising. But one sentence deserves more attention. Von der Leyen referenced Freyja, a joint Europe-Ukraine antiballistic missile-defense project. This could mark a positive step in a context in which Kyiv endures barrages of Russian missiles and drones, while supplies of the anti-ballistic missiles Ukraine needs to defend itself ar

Source: Peterson Institute (PIIE)