2025 European drone sightings
| Part of Violations of non-combatant airspaces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine | |
Reported sites of drone activity and related closures (22–28 September 2025) | |
| Date | 22–28 September 2025 |
|---|---|
| Time | Evenings and nights (local) (CEST) |
| Duration | Several nights over a 6-day period |
| Location | Primarily Zealand and Jutland, Denmark |
| Type | Disruption of civil aviation and surveillance of military sites by unidentified unmanned aerial vehicles |
| Cause | Under investigation |
| Motive | Unknown |
| Outcome |
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| Countries and organisations |
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The 2025 European drone sightings are a series of unexplained unmanned aircraft observations reported starting 22 September 2025 over European civilian airports and military installations. All incidents took place in the evening or at night.
The first major incident forced a near four-hour suspension of flights at Copenhagen Airport (CPH) on the evening of 22 September after two to three large drones were repeatedly seen inside controlled airspace; Oslo Gardermoen (OSL) in neighbouring Norway also briefly closed its airspace that night following a separate sighting. Danish authorities characterized the activity as a likely hybrid operation intended to unsettle the public and disrupt critical infrastructure. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the events “the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date.”
In the following days, Aalborg Airport (AAL), which also hosts a military air base, was twice affected (24–25 and 25–26 September), and police received additional reports near Esbjerg and Sønderborg airports and at Flyvestation Skrydstrup, the main base of Danish F-16 and F-35 jets. The National Operative Staff (NOST), Denmark’s central inter-agency crisis management body, escalated to its highest readiness and the Danish National Police raised its nationwide preparedness to heightened readiness (a level not employed since the 2015 Copenhagen terrorist attacks). The Defence Command stated that it supported police with undisclosed counter-UAS measures.
On 27 September, the Defence Command stated that drones had again been observed at several military facilities, and police confirmed activity near Air Base Karup. NATO announced it would increase its presence in the Baltic Sea region, deploying intelligence assets and the FGS Hamburg, an air-defence frigate. As of 28 September 2025, Danish authorities had not publicly identified perpetrators; officials acknowledged they were investigating multiple hypotheses, characterized the operator as a "capable actor" and did not rule out drones being launched from a maritime vessel.
The incidents unfolded while Denmark held the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union (July–December 2025) and days before an informal European Council meeting in Copenhagen (early October). Authorities imposed a temporary nationwide no-fly zone for drones as a security measure around the summit.