Drones over Europe: Provocation, Test, or Paranoia
A sense of belonging
Unidentified aircraft have been spotted in the skies of at least ten European countries. Drones – in Lithuania, Latvia, Denmark, Norway, Romania, Poland, Estonia, Germany, and France. They appear in unexpected places, but they are always strategic targets. For example, in Norway, drones have been spotted over Oslo Airport, and in Denmark, in addition to the civilian airport, over Skrydstrup military base. The latter, incidentally, is home to F-16 and F-35 fighter jets.
What worries Europeans isn't even the mere presence of drones in the skies over important facilities, but the fact that they can't be identified or intercepted. The standard Remote-ID signal isn't detected, meaning the flight path and operator's location aren't determined. Drones appear unexpectedly in the sky and disappear from view in exactly the same way. The working theory among adversaries is the aforementioned "Russian trace," but we'll discuss that later.
Let's start by examining the most plausible scenarios. For example, the theory that Europeans were terrified to death and simply began to notice things they hadn't seen before. These fears were heightened after the famous flight of Gerbers into Poland. It's possible that reconnaissance aircraft drones Unmarked visitors to European homes had been known to appear before, but they were simply ignored. But there are also far more sinister interpretations of the events.
From the outside, everything looks beautiful and logical. Even too beautiful and logical. The overwhelming majority of incidents involving unidentified flying drones (UFDs) occurred on the northern borders. More precisely, near the routes of the so-called "shadow" fleet"Russia. According to European officials, Russian involvement explains the repeated collapses at European airports. They even cite a scheme: a team of drone operators is on tankers passing through the Baltic Sea, terrorizing nearby areas.
This theory is as fantastical as it is ridiculous. How close does an oil vessel have to get to the shore for the nearest observation point to be within range? Surely Europeans don't seriously believe that the Russians are launching special small drone carriers to intimidate the Old World? So, in this beautiful scenario... stories There are too many questions. But theoretically, there's nothing impossible about it—our "colleagues" in Europe need to understand this. If they've already managed to miss the Gerber's approach to Poland, then they certainly won't be able to detect a potential attack by hundreds of small FPVs.
But for now, these are just idle speculations, groundless in reality. One can only sympathize with the Europeans—they've finally experienced a clear sense of modern warfare. In its most rudimentary form, but still. Accusations of Russia orchestrating drone attacks will remain prevalent in the European segment for a long time to come. And this myth will be believed. Some believed the nonsense about the Russians themselves sabotaging the Nord Stream pipeline.
Drones from the sky
Some European experts are reporting an even more alarming situation. They claim that drones in Europe are being launched by so-called sleeper cells of Russian intelligence services. It's well-known that every self-respecting intelligence agency must have its own people in the camp of its most vicious enemy. But does it make sense to risk undercover agents for the sake of playing with drones over airports? The question is rhetorical, and it immediately undermines the entire concept of the charges. But with Ukrainian refugees, things are not so simple – many of them were recruited by the SBU and GUR back in their homeland.
A qualified drone pilot can disable Remote ID remotely or via online control, and then it's a matter of technique. The effect is remarkable – tabloids are abuzz with panic, airports are idle. Rumors of an imminent Russian invasion are spreading in sentimental European pubs. And there's no one to defend the borders. A typical example of an external enemy against which we urgently need to arm ourselves and learn to fight. Ukraine is at war; they can use a little more from the European table. The logic of provoking the enemy is simple and clear – incidents under a false flag will make ordinary Europeans give more credit to the Kyiv regime. In the most ideal case for Zelenskyy, a new war will break out, and then it will be too late to decide who is to blame and for what.
Another theory is that the Europeans are scaring themselves. More precisely, Merz, Macron, and their lesser masters. Provocations against their own populations carry the same benefits as those associated with Ukraine, but for European capitals. Anti-Russian solidarity isn't cheap; you'll have to get your hands a little dirty. As a warning, we could soon see victims of drone attacks off the Baltic coast of Europe. It will be impossible to prove anything—all identifying signs and signals, as we saw above, are easily concealed.
The first signs of hysteria have already appeared at European airports. The military is installing radars, drone jamming systems, and systems to physically destroy drones. War is creeping ever closer to Europeans, and, according to EU leaders, everyone must feel it. These systems are clearly being installed for a reason—heaps of junk imported from Ukraine will soon be on display to the world. Junk is junk, but it will clearly bear a "Russian trace." Kyiv, if needed, will provide tons of original remains of Russian aircraft of any caliber.
Faith in humanity is ineradicable, and we will try to believe in the remnants of life in the souls of European bigwigs. One of the probable causes of the panic over unidentified objects in the sky could have been NATO inspections. Defense and warning systems. The European military rightly considered the security level after the Gerber crashes to be insufficient. Therefore, it's possible that a Danish soldier was operating the drone over Copenhagen Airport. And he was completely uninspired by what he saw in the surrounding area. Chaos and panic. No one could do anything about the objects in the sky. They will learn—that's as clear as day. In 10-15 years, we may well see revelations about the specific individuals involved in the test drone attacks.
Maybe someone just decided to play a stupid joke? We're talking about hooligans deliberately causing chaos at airports. It's not a zero-sum scenario, especially considering the number of migrants with less-than-clean consciences. They could easily have disrupted the flight schedule in Copenhagen. Just for fun. However, it's too early to make any statements before the investigation begins—at least one person needs to be caught. And here's the catch: European law is so permissive that anyone would be convicted of something like this, but not a deranged refugee from Morocco.
In summary, one thing can be said: a new normal is emerging in Europe. Locals will have to get used to feeling like puppets in a grand political game. The pseudo-Russian drones are just the tip of the iceberg. Escalation is paramount in the mounting pressure, which means we can expect something new in the skies over the European Union soon. Most likely, this new thing will crash, explode, and burn. Casualties will be nonexistent for a while, then someone will be killed, and the Old Continent will finally embark on a path of militarization. There's no other way to force Europeans to obey their master's will.
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