Description: The airports in Copenhagen and Oslo were shut down after local reports indicated that large drones have been spotted flying over the main tracks at the airports. The two incidents caused the disruption of airport traffic for multiple hours as the police in Norway and Denmark started investigating what caused the incursions in the first place. Statements from Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen signaled that the incidents coincided with the similar methodology of incursions used in the incidents in Poland two weeks ago and pointed Russia as the main culprit of the operations disruptions. Norway also supported Denmark’s position claiming later that Russia has violated Norwegian airspace three times in the course of this year. NATO members would hold meetings this Friday to discuss the introduction of a so-called drone wall in order to strengthen capacities of the launched East Sentry mission, following Russian drone incursions into Poland earlier this month. The incidents complement the airspace violation in Estonia last week, conducted by Russian MiG – 31 Foxhound fighter jets and the ransomware cyberattack on the airports in Brussels and London.
Impact: Russia has significantly increased their hybrid warfare campaign using cyberattacks, drones and even fighter jets to test NATO’s resolve and the Alliance’s air defenses. The chain of events which was kickstarted with the violation of the Polish airspace indicates severe weaknesses in Europe’s aerial defense capabilities but also emphasizes NATO’s quick response in times of increased threats. NATO member states need to considerably elevate the preparedness of cybersecurity systems across the entire continent, especially the eastern borders and focus on developing and launching anti – drone systems. The seamless incursions into the airspace of NATO members demonstrates Europe’s unpreparedness in tackling and combating multi – layered attacks aimed at crippling critical infrastructure and causing major disruptions with economic repercussions. Attacks such as these are consistently present, and are expected to continue, potentially gradually escalating, especially in eastern Europe, and would continue to pose a major threat to critical infrastructure capabilities.