Nokia is to lead an EU funded project, amid Russia’s hybrid warfare operations and illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The Finnish networking giant, Nokia, confirmed it will lead PROACTIF – a multimillion Europe robotics and unmanned technology project, which seeks to “redefine how emergency situations and critical infrastructure are managed.”
Up to 42 European tech firms are said to be involved in the project, and Reuters noted that the project aims to protect Europe’s critical infrastructure including the use of drones to watch energy grids, data centres, communication lines.
PROACTIF project
Reuters noted that member organisations also include start-ups and universities, as well as Nvidia and defence firms.
At the time of writing, there does not appear to be a complete list of those involved in the project.
PROACTIF however is a project funded by the European Union’s Chips Joint Undertaking, which was created back in November 2023 when the European Commission had launched it as part of the European Chips Act.
The United Kingdom in March 2024 had joined PROACTIF after it pledged £35 million ($45 million) to the overall 1.3 billion euro ($1.4 billion) research and innovation fund.
Nokia said it will lead PROACTIF “to strengthen Europe’s technology resilience and leadership in ECS technologies and support the autonomy of the European Drone and Robotics industry.”
The consortium “anticipates generating around €90 million (£75m) in revenue, 50 products, and more than 15 new industry patents by 2035, enabling increased market share and leadership. The project’s additional impact includes dozens of new collaborations, hundreds of new jobs, and over €40 million (£33m) of additional investments.”
“Nokia’s extensive expertise has helped establish drone technology best practices and transform drones into daily helpers for public safety and mission-critical operations,” said Thomas Eder, Head of Embedded Wireless Solutions at Nokia.
“We are honoured to lead this project. It demonstrates Nokia’s commitment to fostering innovation and resilience across Europe,” said Eder. “By collaborating with leading organisations, this initiative will address critical challenges in security and sustainability, delivering real-world benefits for society.
Nokia said the project seeks “to develop cutting-edge, cost-efficient, eco-efficient, safe, and cybersecure unmanned vehicle (UxV) systems to address European civil security needs.”
Hybrid warfare
The PROACTIF project comes after Russia’s activities in Ukraine and the Baltic sea have reinforced the need to protect critical infrastructure.
Last month the European Union had announced sanctions against a number of people and entities engaged in Russian hybrid operations and destabilising activities.
The EU cited 21 individuals including politicians, officers of the Russia Military intelligence GRU, CEOs and bloggers, as well as six entities including fishing companies, news agencies, and web hosting firms, who were now subject to EU restrictive measures and sanctions.
It comes after multiple undersea cables in the Baltic sea were damaged or severed over the past couple of years.
The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which carried natural gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, were damaged in explosions in September 2022.
In October 2023, the Balticconnector gas pipeline was extensively damaged, and Finnish investigators recovered a large ship’s anchor near the spot which was linked to a Chinese container vessel.
On 17 and 18th November 2024, two undersea cables located in the Baltic sea, were severed in less than 24 hours, prompting concern over potential sabotage.
In December 2024 a UAE-owned oil tanker accused of being part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” was seized by Finland, after damage to an undersea internet and power cable between Finland and Estonia.
In January 2025 Swedish authorities opened an investigation into suspected aggravated sabotage and seized a ship following damage to an underwater fibre-optic cable in the Baltic Sea from Latvia to the Swedish island of Gotland.
That incident came less than a month after NATO launched a new mission in the Baltic in response to repeated attacks on underwater power and telecoms cables, some of which have been blamed on Russia.
A UN body has also been formed to examine the issue.