Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The mysterious drone flights that disrupted major European airports and flew into NATO military bases with US nuclear weapons may be the work of a coordinated Kremlin campaign launched from merchant ships linked to Russia.
That recent review from the UK International Institute for Strategic Studies used AIS and other publicly available information to show how Russian-affiliated vessels and “shadow” vessels carrying Russian-approved oil are often in close proximity to various drone activities. The report shows that the drone incidents – which affected twelve NATO member states and Ireland between August 2024 and February 2026 – have also revealed the risk of air security in Europe being targeted and attacked by cheap drones.
The IISS report identified 144 sightings in Europe during that time that were unlikely to involve recreational drones or drone-related activities. war in Ukraine. About 48 percent of the sightings occurred at military facilities, 26 percent occurred at critical facilities such as ports and energy or industrial facilities, and 18 percent occurred at civilian airports. Most took place at night or in the early morning hours before sunrise, and the actual drones were described in the press as being similar to “professional” or “military” drones.
