Drone dilemma: How Russia's hybrid war' is using fear to destabilise Europe

"dozens of flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers left stranded on the eve of a German national holiday and the famous Oktoberfest. A week earlier, Copenhagen and Aalborg airports were closed following sightings of unmanned aerial systems in Danish airspace. In the month since a swarm of Russian drones violated Polish airspace — three were shot down — a rash of similar incidents has been reported across Germany, the Baltic and Nordic countries, often over power plants and military bases."

"Russia's alleged hybrid war has suddenly begun to feel a bit close for comfort for many Europeans: potentially reaching into cities a long way from the frontline, comfortably untroubled — until now — by the fallout from the war raging in Ukraine. Public anxiety is mounting, particularly at Nato's borders, reported Daniel Boffey and Miranda Bryant earlier this week — the strange red lights that people on the west coast of Norway keep seeing are a new source of collective stress."

"But the latest drone episodes suggest a gear change; that Russia is accelerating the hybrid campaign in daring new ways. Moscow may be using oil tankers from its illicit shadow fleet, for example, as a launchpad for drones, including those that forced Denmark to close its airports. Challenges in defending the grey zone All eyes on deck the Swedish coastguard to patrol an area that has become a hybrid warfare battleground."

Munich airport closed on 2 October after a suspected drone incursion, cancelling dozens of flights and stranding thousands before a national holiday. Copenhagen and Aalborg airports closed a week earlier after sightings of unmanned aerial systems. A swarm of Russian drones violated Polish airspace, with three shot down, and similar incidents have occurred across Germany, the Baltic and Nordic countries, often targeting power plants and military bases. Public anxiety is rising at NATO borders amid unexplained lights and sightings. Moscow denies orchestrating sabotage, but intelligence suggests an acceleration of hybrid tactics, possibly using illicit oil tankers to launch drones. Defending the grey zone remains a major challenge.

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