A rash of drone flyovers is raising temperatures within NATO territory.
Driving the news: Danish airports have been subjected to drone flyovers this week, with authorities saying it’s not the work of harmless pranksters but a “professional actor” aiming to disrupt operations. The flyovers grounded several flights and raised security concerns.
- In reaction to the incidents, ministers from 10 European nations met yesterday to discuss the logistics of building a “drone wall” to intercept drones in Euro airspace.
Catch-up: Authorities haven’t verified the actors, but the head of Denmark’s security agency said the risk of Russian sabotage is “high.” Russia made similar incursions into NATO airspace in recent weeks, flying drones and fighter jets over Poland, Romania, and Estonia.
- The situation has reached a boiling point, with Poland’s foreign minister directly telling the Russian delegation at a UN meeting this week that Poland would shoot down any aircraft entering its airspace — an idea that Donald Trump supports.
Why it matters: We may have experienced some drone panic here in North America (remember the Chinese spy balloon?), but this is decidedly more serious. As peace talks between Russia and Ukraine deteriorate, security experts fear Russia could be goading NATO allies into shooting something down, giving it pretext to escalate military operations.
Bottom line: Even if Russia isn’t behind the Danish flyovers, these drone incidents are still turning the dial up on a situation that’s reaching peak Cold War levels of intensity.—QH