Late on the night of September 9, twenty-one medium-sized, fixed-wing drones were detected entering Poland’s airspace. Polish and NATO aircraft were quickly scrambled, with several of the drones successfully shot down. Others crashed on their own, some deep inside Polish territory.
About two weeks later, reports emerged of unidentified drones in the air around airports and military installations in Denmark—with sightings continuing over a number of nights. The drones forced a temporary grounding of planes at Copenhagen Airport, with a similar drone-triggered grounding at Oslo Airport in neighboring Norway.
On their surface, these two incidents appear to have little in common. The drones in Polish airspace are believed to have been launched from Russian territory, while it’s unclear where the drones in Denmark originated. Poland shares a long border with both Ukraine, an active conflict zone, and Belarus, Russia’s chief European ally. Denmark, by contrast, is on the other side of Europe, far from the war in Ukraine. The flight paths of the drones in Poland took them over vast areas of territory, whereas those in Denmark appeared around specific locations. And yet despite their differences, the two incidents together provide a sense of the wide range of ways that drone threats can manifest.
To explore those threats, John Amble is joined on this episode of the MWI Podcast by Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn, a senior fellow and director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security. From securing sovereign airspace to protecting maneuver formations on the battlefield, the counterdrone challenge is deeply complex—one that both the US joint force and the militaries of other NATO member states, particularly those Eastern European states most at risk from Russian drone operations, are grappling. The discussion in this episode examines that challenge.
The MWI Podcast is produced through an endowment generously funded by the West Point Class of 1974. You can listen to this episode of the podcast below, and if you aren’t already subscribed, be sure to find it on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app so you don’t miss an episode. While you’re there, please take just a moment to leave the podcast a rating or give it a review!
Image credit: Dpsu.gov.ua