Drones sighted over Denmark’s military bases as EU mulls setting up a defensive wall
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Drones sighted over Denmark’s military bases as EU mulls setting up a defensive wall")
The Danish police at Copenhagen Airport on Monday after drones were spotted near the airport. Photograph: (AFP)
Defence ministers from 10 European Union countries agreed to make a “drone wall” a priority for the bloc. The EU defence commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, said Europe needed to learn from Ukraine and swiftly build anti-drone defences.
In another airspace breach, unidentified drones were sighted flying over Denmark’s military sites, including its biggest base, late night into Saturday, the latest in a series of sightings even as European Union members agreed to go ahead with creation of a “drone wall” along the borders with Russia and Ukraine. Officials called the fresh drone sightings as a “hybrid attack” and hinted at possible Russian involvement. Drones were spotted at several military sites, a Danish military spokesperson told AFP, but refused to provide more details. However, police said one to two drones were sighted on Friday night near and over the Karup airbase, the country’s biggest base that houses all of the armed forces’ helicopters, airspace surveillance, flight school and support functions.
Karup is also home to parts of the defence command, according to the military’s website.
Police spokesperson, Simon Skelkjaer, said they cannot comment on where the drones came from, adding, “We didn’t take them down.” Police are cooperating with the military in the investigation, he said.
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Some 3,500 people work at Karup airbase that shares its runways with the Midtjylland civilian airport, which was briefly closed after the sightings though no flights were affected as none were scheduled at that hour, Skelkjaer said.
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Mysterious drones flying across Denmark since Monday prompted the closure of several airports.
Drone reports shut Oslo airport in Norway for hours this week, after drone incursions in Polish and Romanian territory and the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets.
Danish PM Mette Frederiksen, said on Thursday that “over recent days, Denmark has been the victim of hybrid attacks”.
Frederiksen pointed the finger at Russia, saying, “There is one main country that poses a threat to Europe’s security, and it is Russia.”
The drone flights began days after Denmark announced it would acquire long-range precision weapons for the first time, as Russia would pose a threat “for years to come”.
On Friday, defence ministers from 10 EU countries agreed to make a “drone wall” a priority for the bloc. The EU defence commissioner, Andrius Kubilius, said Europe needed to learn from Ukraine and swiftly build anti-drone defences.
“We need to move fast,” Kubilius told AFP. “And we need to move, taking all the lessons from Ukraine and making this drone wall together with Ukraine.”
The Danish government said it had accepted Sweden’s offer of its anti-drone technology to ensure the meeting could go ahead without disruption.
