Denmark, the Estoniaa Poland ea Romania reported, in a short period of time, the entry of unidentified drones into the respective airspaces. In SeptemberDenmark was forced to close its Aalborg airport in the north of the country, after unmanned aerial vehicles were detected (UAV) flying over the area.
Days earlier, drones had been observed near Copenhagen airport, and Esbjerg, Sonderborg and Skrydstrup, in western Denmark (which led to the suspension of operations). “It doesn’t seem like a coincidencein fact”, admitted Danish Defense Minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, to journalists. “It seems systematic. It’s what I would define as a hybrid attack.”
A few days ago, the CNN published an investigation exposing that, in places where activity of these dronesships with links to Russia were found. The objective of alleged Moscow operations with drones it would be cause economic losses, as each hour of airport closure costs many thousands of euros, but also “sow fear in target societies”points out the researcher Ivan Klyszcz, from the International Center for Defense and Security in Tallinn, Estonia.
“While drone shutdowns of airports may not be as threatening as other operations, creates a feeling of discomfort and increases pressure on public authorities”, adds Talin’s expert, who sees these activities as “characteristics of a covert operation”. In no case did the perpetrator reveal his identity. For Moscow — if that is the case — this amounts to plausible deniability. In parallel, these operations would generate valuable information for those who orchestrate them, namely, about social reactions, impact and response time of the authorities.