BERLIN (AP) – Mystical drone flights across the airspace of the European Union countries in recent weeks have wary of the public and elected officials.
Invasion of NATO airspacesome of them denounced Russia, reaching unprecedented scale last month. Some European officials described the incident as a test of Moscow’s NATO response, raising questions about how the alliance was being prepared against Russia.
On September 10, a swarm of Russian drones jumped into Polish airspace, forced a scramble on NATO aircraft, intercepting them and fired down several devices. That was The first direct encounter between NATO and Moscow Since Russia launched All-out war In Ukraine on February 24th, 2022.
A few days later, the NATO Jets escorted them. Three Russian fighter planes From Estonia’s airspace.
Since then, flyovers have occurred near airports, military facilities and critical infrastructure, among other parts of the continent, urging the European Minister of Defense to agree to the development of A. “Drone Wall” Along their boundaries, they better detect, track and intercept drones that violate European airspace.
Russia has been criticized for some of them, but it denies anything was done intentionally or that it played a role. European authorities have not released many details about the drone invasion, and some have not publicly acknowledged the turbulence until a few days later.
Authorities were also unable to confirm reports of sightings. At one point, Danish authorities were flooded with hints of 500 sightings over 24 hours. Some of them turned out to be stars in the sky.
The country is rushing to understand how it will respond at this point, including considering whether or not authorities will allow the drone to be shot down.
Here’s what we know about some of the recent drone sightings:
Airport closures across Europe
Munich Airport, Germany It resumed on Saturday morning After authorities closed it the night before Second time Within 24 hours of additional drone sightings. The delay is expected to continue throughout Saturday, with at least 6,500 passengers affected by the overnight closure.
In Denmark, drones flew through Copenhagen Airport on September 22, causing significant disruptions in and out of Scandinavia’s largest airport.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen said he could not rule out Russia’s involvement, calling it “the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date.”
Meanwhile, reports of drone sightings occurred the same night at Norway’s Oslo airport, forcing all traffic to one runway. Authorities were investigating whether there was a link between the two major airports.
Targeted Danish military sites
The drone also flew through four small Danish airports from September 24th to September 25th. This included two that served as military bases. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Paulsen said there is a high possibility that “professional” actors are behind “systematic flights.”
In the same time frame, several Danish media reported that one or more drones were seen near or above the Karup Air Base, the largest military base in Denmark.
The Ministry of Defense refused to confirm sightings at Karup or elsewhere, saying, “Defence Command Denmark does not want to further explain the drone sightings due to operational security and ongoing investigations.”
The critical infrastructure of Germany
In Germany, authorities are investigating unclear claims Drone It is possible that they spyed on a vital infrastructure in the north of Schleswig Holstein. According to a report by Der Spiegel, several drones were discovered on September 25th near a power plant and a shipyard in the port city of Kiel’s state capital.
Regional Home Minister Sabin Suttering Werk told a committee in the state legislature that “various types and sizes” of flight objectives have been discovered. Prosecutor Stephanie Grop said the investigation is ongoing.
Der Spiegel said two Small drone It was seen on the premises of TKMS’ Kiel factory, a maritime defense technology provider.
Later, “coupled drone layers” were observed at university hospitals and power plants, and sightings of other drones were reported at government buildings in the area and at Heideoil refineries, the report states.
A more suspicious drone was discovered in Sanitz’s military base, in the east of Pomerania, western Mecklenburg.
