Mysterious drones have been spotted at airports across Europe
78 comments
·November 17, 2025skc
fusslo
What I don't understand is... is it really only NATO aligned countries?
Maybe I just didn't read the article well enough.
In the USA we get over 100 drone sightings near airports per month. ( https://www.faa.gov/uas/resources/public_records/uas_sightin...? ) ( we are certainly 'NATO aligned', but it's the easiest source of drone incursion records I could find )
What about Asian countries? African Countries? Does the EU have better drone detection? Does the EU overreact due to the current tension levels within the EU?
the whole article reads like a FUD-laced sales pitch for gathering public support for an expensive anti-drone tech. There's even a whole section talking about how it will be a 'financially controversial question'. The article starts with fearmongering around the drones not having explosives 'yet'.
Maybe there are normal or slightly elevated levels of drone incursion due to idiots with access to cheap drones. Maybe the drone-wall vendor working with their partners within the EU saw an opportunity to exploit fear to gather support
tarsinge
If you take into account the silence from officials and politicians then 2) seems more likely.
infecto
I would not rule out China out either. Let’s not forget some of their recent state backed exploits as well as the “weather” balloon that flew over America.
jiehong
One thing that is particularly annoying: the lack of communication from the governments/police about the status of the investigation, or lack thereof.
Side question: How likely are autonomous reconnaissance drones today?
I'd expect them to be impervious to traditional jamming.
I could imagine a pair of drones, a few km apart, communicating by laser line-of-sight, where the reconnaissance one acquires data, send it to the nearby drone, that one would use it to confirm data and do something else with it (aka, spotter and actor).
boriskourt
Not a bad overview of the situation! Worth it for some of the questions about what is actually efficient and not just technically effective. Especially at this scale.
> "The aggressor", he concludes, "will observe, adjust, repeat – until they get through".
Reminds me a lot of digital sec.
baq
it's just security, digital or not. sun tzu's art of war is timeless and widely applicable (including outside of the military or even security domains) for a reason.
Cthulhu_
I dunno if calling them "mysterious" is really helpful in this case. Just shoot them down if they get close, that should be the response in a wartime scenario too. Plus, given it's in civilian areas, they can use the expensive laser defense systems to do that.
an0malous
The mysteriousness is the main point of the article. These drones aren’t identifiable, across dozens of incursions this year alone, no one has taken any drone down or identified where they’re launching from or returning to in spite of all the advanced NATO satellite imagery and aerial surveillance that can identify individual people on the ground.
randomNumber7
The way the german government reacts to this makes it pretty easy for any lone actor to do state level damage.
Cthulhu_
That's why I don't understand why there isn't a more aggressive response to flying drones illegally near airports. IMO they should just be shot down.
Actually some years they were very proudly showing birds of prey that they had trained to do just that. Whatever happened to that?
After 9/11 there was a huge worldwide shift in e.g. airplane security due to the threat of terrorism, but now there's drones out there they can fly into planes or that can drop bombs they're doing... what? Mentioning it in the news?
slightwinder
> That's why I don't understand why there isn't a more aggressive response to flying drones illegally near airports. IMO they should just be shot down.
This isn't allowed in most countries, so they usually also have no equipment for this. Some countries seem to have changed the laws recently for this case and building up on defence more openly now. Which also leaves space for speculations if this wasn't maybe also sometimes a false-flag-operation.
> Actually some years they were very proudly showing birds of prey that they had trained to do just that. Whatever happened to that?
They are trained for small slow commercial drones, those which are around the same size as the bird, or smaller. Military long-range-drones are usually a bit bigger and faster, meaning the bird could probably for simply reason of physic not doing much.
This probably is also a main problem here, that most drone-defences in the last years were developed against private actors, not military threats.
> but now there's drones out there they can fly into planes or that can drop bombs they're doing... what? Mentioning it in the news?
It's never been a real threat so far, so nobody really was working on it seriously. There is an endless amount of theoretical threats, you can't protect everything against all of them, you have to go case by case. But reacting takes time. This is going for just some months(?), and still not even a real threat, as nobody knows anything for real (as far as we know). But many things seem happening in secret, outside the public view.
FinnKuhn
How do you expect to shoot them down? They are small and very quick and disappear shortly after appearing.
Cthulhu_
If they're detectable they can be targeted; counter-drones for sure (which are also very fast), and there's automated rifle targeting systems specifically designed to target and shoot down drones (e.g. https://www.smart-shooter.com/). I'm confident that a system of automated turrets on and around an airbase could be set up. If shooting a gun near civilians is an issue, these don't even need to shoot bullets.
But of course, electronic countermeasures / jamming should be attempted first, so they can be recovered intact and traced.
infecto
Jammers work pretty well. I would expect most large airports would have a defense response. They would have the tools setup to one instantly identify and track said drones come within the space and two have the tools like the portable jammers to “shoot” it down. These tools are not that expensive and exist from multiple vendors.
I would have expected this to be table stakes at running large busy airports.
jiehong
Stand-by drone-intercepting drones?
Tracking them is a need first and foremost. How about a down-facing radar on top of the Aviation Control Tower?
tokai
And in many cases its simply not legal to start shooting at unidentified drones in an urban environment.
__alexs
Is this like that time we closed Gatwick for 3 days because of a collective delusion?
Every news report I read about this stuff has at best /r/ufos level of uselessly vague photography.
zipy124
I was there for that, ended up getting the eurostart instead, still can't believe that it was basically all for nothing and we still have no information about it really.
null
Toutouxc
I still haven’t seen any specifics on the type of drones spotted at those airports. Is the other side just sending random people with cheap FPV drones? Or are they flying Shaheds around airports? I could take my 6” FPV drone and go buzz the tower at a nearby international airport, if I wanted. It costs less than 500€ for the entire kit and with ELRS and high power analog VTx you can do it from kilometers away and run before they catch you. Obviously it’s illegal as fuck.
ACCount37
Civilian drones most of the time.
It's thought that it's Russian illegal agents doing this. A lot of them locals recruited online. Really cheap ops done by really cheap people, using cheap and deniable gear.
mosst
I have heard about this happening in Russia but not the other way around. Can you please elaborate?
sigwinch
As of October, Russian efforts via Telegram are associated with the seemingly-spontaneous swarms around places like The Hague.
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-cyberespionage-gig-...
sigwinch
I heard it’s a mix. Suggestible local people on Telegram are coaxed to launch civilian stuff at a time and place. This clouds the sensor data of the true launches.
I don’t know if we’ve seen Shahads since 10 September, but note that Shahads can be ship-launched as well.
mosst
So this is happening in the EU? I only heard about such cases happening in Russia. Where did you read about this?
sigwinch
It’s well documented, Latvia, Poland, and it takes time to build the case so there are probably more.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2025/may/04...
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/01/16/we-need-eyes-and-ear...
mastax
Have they been conclusively spotted? With evidence? Sorry I only skimmed the article. Until there is, I’m going to keep believing it’s some sort of mass delusion like UFO sightings. Not because I think some sort of drone attack is particularly unlikely, but because these sorts of mass delusions are evidently very common - like happened in New Jersey.
sigwinch
9 September is probably where you want to start. Intentional swarm of military drones into NATO. Shahads shot down, no question about a Russian plan to test reactions along the perimeter.
Since then, coordinated launches of screens of smaller civilian drones. I don’t think we’ll get hard numbers, but I’ve heard that NATO is more interested in ground-detection of GPS and satellite uplink jamming.
So the question now is: how are some civilians coordinating within NATO countries, and how are they getting drones that can jam?
Cthulhu_
Don't they show up on radar? I have no reason to doubt the detection of drones around airports and other infrastructure, especially given they already have enforced drone bans and therefore have installations specifically designed to detect and track drones.
null
Yokolos
If we see a war between Russia and the EU, we're going to have to deal with them learning from Israel and using the same idea of decentralised drone hubs attacking military and civilian targets across the entire continent. We're woefully underprepared to deal with something like this. Western Europe still thinks that if a war breaks out, it'll be tanks and soldiers going into the Baltic states, and we'll crush them with our advanced arsenal. It'll be more like when Russia took eastern Ukraine. A hard push, then months of digging in as they proceed to genocide the Baltics, gaslight the West into thinking it'd be easier and safer to just hand over the Baltics without a big fight and wage asymmetric warfare across Europe and severely hamper any military response by hitting the logistic chains at every point.
bluGill
The EU military leaders are watching Ukraine closely (as is any other competent military leader anywhere in the world) and trying to figure out how they will handle this problems. The EU is also talking to Ukraine military leaders and brainstorming solutions that Ukraine is trying in real time (not all military leaders are, but a lot of countries outside of the EU are). The EU is also designing new weapons/systems with the current situation in mind, it is likely that these (whatever they are - this is classified but I can say it with confidence anyway because it is so obvious there is no way they are not doing something) will be ready before Russia attacks.
slightwinder
> Western Europe still thinks that if a war breaks out, it'll be tanks and soldiers going into the Baltic states, and we'll crush them with our advanced arsenal.
Drones are not for conquering, but destruction. We see this in Ukraine now, where Drones are not making the whole war, but are just one gear of the machinery. And Western leaders know this, they are preparing Drones, but refitting the western machinery takes time. Probably one reason why they seem busy to bind Russia in Ukraine.
Yokolos
> Drones are not for conquering, but destruction.
Yes, and we have plenty of infrastructure to destroy. It's a target rich environment.
> And Western leaders know this, they are preparing Drones
I've seen zero indication that this is true. Do you have sources that we're in any way preparing for a large-scale drone war?
slightwinder
> Yes, and we have plenty of infrastructure to destroy. It's a target rich environment.
Yes, but how is that relevant? Everything is always open for terror. Russia itself is not safe either. Or are you assuming Russia is out for pure blind destruction? Degrading themselves to become lousy terrorists? Just spreading destruction for no reason?
I would assume they at least will have some aim and reasoning behind their targets, which would mean they will come with soldiers and tanks, and conquer land, or destroy the highest profile-targets. In the first case, they will have very limited resources to spare for attacks on middle European targets. For the second case, you only need to focus your defence on those targets.
> I've seen zero indication that this is true.
May you are following the wrong sources? Building up drones-defence is in progress for a while now. Whether it's going well is a different story, but I would assume that they will not talk very openly about those things for obvious reasons.
billy99k
Do you really think after years of crushing defeats in battle and sanctions, that they have the money or soldiers to fight the EU? If they did, they would have taken over Ukraine by now.
Now if China gets involved? It's a different story.
Cthulhu_
If China gets involved directly (e.g. not through supplies) then the conflict will escalate; no party wants to escalate this, and for years now this has been a tight-rope proxy war of sorts, where Europe and the US try to support Ukraine as much as possible without being directly involved. Likewise, Russia has been getting supplies and people from their allies.
DocTomoe
It's Schroedinger's Red Army: Too incompetent and weak to conquer a third-rate power, but prepared and willing o attack NATO-coordinated Western Europe any day now.
Such is propaganda: You need to keep the population in fear so they will follow your policies.
immibis
They don't need money or soldiers, but drones.
victorbjorklund
How would they get drones without money or soldiers?
gambiting
If you read what top generals in various countries in the EU are saying(especially on the East side), their main concern is that Russia is making thousands of brand new tanks, cannons, support vehicles......and they are all going into storage. Very few are actually getting sent to Ukraine. If these guys are saying that large scale conflict with Russia seems almost inevitable within few years.....what qualifications do I have to disagree with them? Obviously I don't want this to be true - far from it.
pdabbadabba
I’ve never heard anyone say this. Source?
kakacik
Don't underestimate lack if willingness of EU folks to see their dead, or have hospitals or kindergardens bombed by russians on purpose, just like they routinely do in Ukraine. Maybe it can bring on more resistance but I wouldn't hold my breath, european population right now is weak.
Also russia has firm footing in EU politics already - for example every single far right group is parroting russian propaganda even when directly aimed against given country. It took decades to build to sow division in whole EU and they are using it now to their fullest.
[EDIT] Gotta love the downvotes, I am just describing what I see across whole EU including my own country. Would love some constructive feedback but this is clearly a touchy topic for many folks
littlestymaar
I'm not convinced by your conclusion.
I mean of course drones would be a massive problem for western forces as they have never faced that kind of threat at scale.
But at the same time the Russian army has suffered dramatic attrition in Ukraine, especially in anti-air capabilities which used to be USSR's specialty and which western analyst feared it would allow the Russians to perform wide anti access on the Baltic's while they would quickly take over the Suvalki corridor and the whole Baltic states soon after.
With limited maneuvering capability left to quickly overwhelm local land armies and a significantly diminished air defense asset, I think the Russians would just lose the sky very quickly and then be unable to supply their ground forces.
And I really don't think Putin wants to lose a quick conventional war and end up with just the nuclear deterrence as his only card so I'm not too worried about him attacking EU directly. (But then again it made little sense to attack Ukraine in the first place yet he did it no matter what, so who knows…)
(Had the Ukrainian army collapsed and the 2022 campaign gone as planned by the Russian command, then the prospects would have been extremely grim for the Baltic states and the European Union as a whole. We Europeans collectively owe a lot to the Ukrainians).
sigwinch
On the topic of what Putin wants, I’m increasingly swayed that domestic politics limit the choices he’s given. I wonder how the same siloviki but a different leader would perform.
On the topic of a wide drone attack coinciding with land invasion, I think (rightly or wrongly) the drone attack will be attributed to Russia early. Even though the life of a Russian soldier is approximately the same as a drone, it’d be very helpful for Russia to manifest the drones in support of some other origin of the troops.
mavhc
[flagged]
billy99k
Just what we need. They stopped Nuclear energy from taking over in the 70s and 80s, why not destroy Air travel too?
rdtsc
Further realization — Russians don’t have to fly drones or sabotage things, they could just “encourage” eco warriors.
I mean they would still be using drones but the drones are just human.
Suddenly wondering if there is any history of Russians/Soviets “sponsoring” the groups who were after Germany shutting down its nuclear reactors…
anonym29
Right, because nothing screams "I love the environment" like replacing one five hour flight with 200 48 hour internal combustion car road trips.
zimpenfish
Only if every car has only one person - once you start getting 2 or more people in a car, driving starts to win[0] (and that's discounting the heavy multiplier you get from things like coaches and buses.)
[0] https://terrapass.com/blog/carbon-footprint-of-driving-vs-fl...
anonym29
Right, but you're missing the part where in the real world, nobody on the plane is going to carpool with other passengers they've never met, they're going to drive themselves in their own car, because people are not automatons that instinctively select the most climate-friendly option.
We shouldn't be comparing the most optimistic outcome in the world as you'd prefer it to be that could happen as a result of the flight being cancelled, we should be comparing the most probable outcome in the world as it actually exists.
bluGill
Those problems have never stopped the environmental movement before, so why would they now. (they could have supported nuclear a couple decades ago and we would be in much better shape environmentally)
anonym29
The problem with the environmental movement is that it's not about saving the environment, it's about virtue signalling and chasing an internal locus of control over a phenomenon that is very strictly determined by factors outside of anyone's abilty to meaningfully influence.
klez
What about trains, though?
anonym29
People aren't going to do what you want them to do, they're going to do what they want to do, and in the USA, that's almost never trains.
null
thatgerhard
The BBC is pretty much the onion now imo.. They lie which makes them the opposite of the news.
Cthulhu_
If you make a bold claim like that I hope you have the sources to back it up. News outlets spreading misinformation is a criminal act; it was in the UK's 2003 Communications Act [0] and has been updated in the 2023 Online Safety Act [1], with some people already having been convicted [2] for spreading misinformation.
[0] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/21/section/127
[1] https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/50/section/179
[2] https://www.derbyshire.police.uk/news/derbyshire/news/news/s...
mosst
Exactly, there's a difference between spreading information that is factually incorrect and reporting (or not reporting) information in a way that is misleading.
sigwinch
A few people have great information on drones. Why would they become sources for RT?
monooso
Oh hai Donald.
The fact that these drones are only appearing in NATO aligned countries makes it seem pretty obvious to me that it's one of two possibilities.
1) Russian sabre-rattling
2) NATO countries running "secret" drills in public in anticipation of 1)
The UFO community is of course running with a third option that doesn't warrant any seriousness.