Unidentified drones flew over civilian and military airports in Denmark for the second night of the week, with the Defence Minister considering this to be a "systematic threat" caused by a "professional actor".
Drones were spotted over the airports of Aalborg (north), Esbjerg (west), Sonderborg (south) and the Skrydstrup military air base (south) before leaving of their own accord, according to the police.
On Monday evening, drones of unknown origin flew over Copenhagen Airport and Oslo Airport in neighbouring Norway, blocking traffic for several hours.
These incidents come after Russian drones entered Polish and Romanian airspace and Russian fighter jets entered Estonian airspace, but the Danish and European authorities have not yet made any connection between these incidents.
The Danish government, which insists there is no "direct military threat", has announced that it will acquire new means of "detecting and neutralising drones".
The Scandinavian country, a member of NATO, is due to host the heads of state and government of the European Union countries for a summit in Copenhagen next week.
Aalborg Airport, one of the country's largest after Copenhagen Airport, was temporarily closed before reopening several hours later.
Following a "comprehensive assessment of the situation", the police and army decided not to shoot down the drones, particularly for the safety of civilians, said Chief of Defence Michael Hyldgaard at a press conference on Thursday morning.
"We have not apprehended the operators" of the drones, local police said earlier. They said the drones "were flying with lights and had been observed from the ground," but that they had been unable to determine the type of drones or the reason for the flight.
Esbjerg and Sonderborg airports were not closed as no flights were scheduled there. An investigation has been launched in collaboration with the Danish intelligence services and the army with the aim of ‘clarifying the circumstances’ of these flights, the police added.
These incidents come a week after Denmark announced the acquisition, for the first time, of long-range precision weapons to strike distant targets, judging that Russia would pose a threat ‘for years to come’.
Last weekend, other European airports, including Brussels, London, Berlin and Dublin, were also disrupted by a cyberattack, the origin of which has not been disclosed.
