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BRUSSELS, June 7 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Wednesday announced it launched a European defense Fund to boost defense capabilities.

The fund, with an estimated amount of 5.5 billion euros(6.2 billion U.S. dollars) per year after 2020, will coordinate EU member states' national investments in defense research and development.

The European Commission has already proposed 25 million euros (28 million U.S. dollars) for defense research as part of the 2017 EU budget.

It will propose a defense research program to make the EU one of the biggest defense research investors in Europe.

The fund would also act as a financial tool allowing participating member states to purchase certain assets together, such as helicopters and drones to reduce their costs.

European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said: "People across Europe are worried about their and their children's security. Complementing our cooperation with NATO, we need to do more and better ourselves."

"The fund will act as a catalyst for a strong European defense industry which develops cutting-edge, fully interoperable technologies and equipment," he said.