Russia has conducted 144 incidents of suspicious drone flights over a dozen European countries from August 2024 to February 2026, revealing Europe's vulnerability and NATO members' ill-preparedness. A new report by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies indicates these complex reconnaissance drones, likely launched from "Russian-linked vessels" in the North and Baltic Seas, represent a systematic campaign to probe defenses and gather information.
This campaign, which included sightings near a French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier off Sweden, over Denmark's Koege port, and the Netherlands' Volkel air base, is seen as a coordinated approach. Experts, including Charlie Edwards, a lead author, describe it as a series of tactical successes for the Kremlin but a strategic failure for allied defense. These frequent incursions are forcing European nations to fundamentally change their thinking about national defense, highlighting the challenges posed by the new drone era.
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