Dutch soldiers deployed in Poland recently detected drones strangers who They altered their communications during a NATO exercise, in a new incident which highlights the growing unidentified activity in Eastern European airspace under Russian threat and in the midst of the war in Ukraine.
The troops did not have anti-drone systems at the time of the incident, which occurred during large-scale aerial training maneuvers, in which Germany and the United States also participated, as sources from the Ministry of Defense confirmed to public radio and television NOS on Tuesday.
Los Anti-drone teams were sent from the Netherlands shortly after. “There was no direct threat. We are quite far from the Russian border. We learned immediately and adapted our measures,” said Brigadier General Frank Grandia.
The exercises were taking place at a Polish airfield when small drones appeared that caused disturbances in communications. It is unknown who is behind these devices, although Grandia admitted that “There are actors with an extraordinary interest in what we do and who follow our exercises.”
The maneuver was modified, but not suspended, and the drones ended up leaving.
The incident comes amid growing tension in the region’s airspace. In recent weeks, Poland has denounced repeated incursions by unidentified drones which, according to its Army, come from Russia, something that the Kremlin has denied or simply ignored.
He The Polish government has shot down several of these devices with the support of Dutch F-35 fighters that help monitor NATO airspace over Eastern Europe.
Warsaw has also ordered the preventive takeoff of planes in response to threats of drone attacks against neighboring Ukraine.
The acting Dutch Government announced last week the creation of a drone testing area over the North Sea, in search of strengthen NATO air defense.
This is the last chapter of a series of airspace violations of several European allies with unmanned aerial vehicles.
In the second half of September, Denmark has also suffered a series of serious incidents with drones unidentified people who have forced the temporary closure of several airports such as Aalborg and Billund, and have flown over critical military installations, including Karup air base, the country’s largest.
Incident that was repeated in the early morning of October 3 in Munich, where the airport of the German city was forced to close for a few hours behind him sighting of several drones in its vicinity.