Unidentified drones have been spotted over major military bases in Denmark and Norway, the latest in a series of sightings some officials have hinted might be linked to Russia.
Drones were spotted on Friday night flying over Danish military sites including Karup, its largest base, while nearby Norway was also investigating “possible sightings of drones” early on Saturday near its biggest military base, Orland.
The sightings have shocked Europe. Germany’s interior minister has said he wants to authorise its military to shoot down drones, while EU leaders are due to meet in Copenhagen next week and are expected to discuss how to improve Europe’s defences and support Ukraine.
On Friday defence ministers from 10 EU countries agreed to strengthen eastern defences with a so-called “drone wall” to deter Russia.
On Saturday, Russia blasted the EU’s plans, with its foreign ministry saying the measures would lead to “an increase in military and political tensions on our continent,” according to a report on state news agency RIA Novosti.
The ministry added that the plans amounted to “personal ambitions and political games of the EU’s ruling elites.”
The comments come as drones sightings were confirmed at “several military sites” in Denmark, a military spokesperson said on Saturday.
The Danish public broadcaster DR reported that there were drones in the air inside and outside the fence of the Karup airbase around 8pm on Friday, according to Simon Skelkjær, spokesperson for the Central and West Jutland police.
Skelkjaer said he could not comment on where the drones came from, adding: “We didn’t take them down.”
Karup airbase houses all of the Danish armed forces’ helicopters, airspace surveillance and parts of the Danish Defence Command.
In Norway, Brynjar Stordal, a spokesperson for Norwegian’s joint headquarters, told AFP they were investigating the sightings, but “handling it as a drone sighting.”
At least two drones flew “for around an hour” in a restricted area close to Orland, the main base for Norway’s F-35 fighter jets and a key Nato base. “They were not engaged by us,” he said.
The new drone activity is the latest in a string of sightings over the past week above Nordic countries, some of which led to the temporary closing of airports, including the main airports in Copenhagen and Oslo on Monday night. Denmark said it was the victim of a “hybrid attack”.
There was also a drone spotted late Friday over Germany’s northern Schleswig-Holstein state, which borders Denmark, state interior minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack told local broadcaster NDR.
German interior minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Saturday that the threat from drones was “high” and the government was considering allowing the armed forces to shoot down drones under certain conditions. Police have the main responsibility for defending against drones.
Dobrindt told journalists in Berlin that he wanted to revise air safety laws to allow the “shooting down of drones” by the armed forces, among other measures.
“It’s about being prepared so that critical infrastructure or large gatherings of people, for example, can be protected,” he said.
“What we are witnessing is an arms race – an arms race between drone threats and drone defence. We must prepare ourselves for this,” he added.
Copenhagen has also said it plans to acquire new enhanced capabilities to detect and neutralise drones.
Russia is the prime suspect behind the recent drone incursions, with Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen on Thursday saying, “There is one main country that poses a threat to Europe’s security, and it is Russia.”
Although no definitive proof has been provided to back this up, Danish defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen said Thursday that the flights appeared to be “the work of a professional actor”.
The drone flights began just days after Denmark said last Wednesday it would acquire “long-range precision weapons” for the first time to counter the threat from Russia.
Danish justice minister Peter Hummelgaard said the aim of the attacks was “to spread fear, create division and frighten us”.
This follows similar drone activity over Romania and Poland in the last few weeks, as well as Russian fighter jets violating Estonian airspace, which has raised concerns over the security of northern Europe and its vulnerability to air attack from Russia.
Moscow has denied breaching Nato’s airspace, calling the EU’s reaction a “hysteria” on Wednesday.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
