BERLIN (AP) \u2014 Mysterious drone flights over the airspace of European Union member countries in recent weeks have alarmed the public and elected officials.<\/p>\n
Intrusions into NATO\u2019s airspace<\/a>, some of them blamed on Russia, reached an unprecedented scale last month. Some European officials described the incidents as Moscow testing NATO\u2019s response, which raised questions about how prepared the alliance is against Russia.<\/p>\n On Sept. 10, a swarm of Russian drones flew into Poland\u2019s airspace, forcing NATO aircraft to scramble to intercept them and shoot down some of the devices. It was the first direct encounter between NATO and Moscow<\/a> since Russia launched its all-out war<\/a> on Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.<\/p>\n Days later, NATO jets escorted three Russian warplanes<\/a> out of Estonia\u2019s airspace.<\/p>\n Since then, flyovers have occurred near airports, military installations and critical infrastructure, among other locations, elsewhere on the continent and prompted European defense ministers to agree to develop a \u201cdrone wall\u201d<\/a> along their borders to better detect, track and intercept drones violating Europe\u2019s airspace.<\/p>\n Russia has been blamed for some of them, but denies that anything was done on purpose or that it played a role. European authorities haven\u2019t released much detail about the drone intrusions, with some not acknowledging the overflights publicly until days later. <\/p>\n Other times, authorities were unable to confirm a report of a sighting. At one point, Danish authorities were flooded with 500 tips of sightings over 24 hours \u2014 some of which turned out to be just stars in the sky.<\/p>\n Countries are scrambling to figure out how to respond in the moment, including weighing whether to allow authorities to shoot the drones down.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what we know about some of the recent drone sightings:<\/p>\n Airport closures across Europe<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s Munich Airport reopened Saturday morning<\/a> after authorities shut it down the night before for the second time<\/a> in less than 24 hours after two additional drone sightings. Delays were expected to continue throughout Saturday and at least 6,500 passengers were impacted by the overnight closure.<\/p>\n In Denmark, drones flew over Copenhagen Airport on Sept. 22, causing a major disruption to air traffic in and out of Scandinavia\u2019s largest airport. <\/p>\n Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Russian involvement couldn\u2019t be ruled out, calling it \u201cthe most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, a report of a drone sighting occurred the same evening at Norway\u2019s Oslo Airport, forcing all traffic to one runway. Authorities were investigating whether there was a link between the two major airports.<\/p>\n Danish military sites targeted<\/p>\n Drones also flew over four smaller Danish airports between Sept. 24 and Sept. 25, including two that serve as military bases. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said that a \u201cprofessional\u201c actor was likely behind the \u201dsystematic flights.\u201d<\/p>\n In the same time frame, several Danish media outlets reported that one or more drones were seen near or above the Karup Air Base, which is Denmark\u2019s biggest military base.<\/p>\n The defense ministry refused to confirm the sighting at Karup or elsewhere, and said that \u201cfor reasons of operational security and the ongoing investigation, the Defense Command Denmark does not wish to elaborate further on drone sightings.\u201d<\/p>\n Critical infrastructure in Germany<\/p>\n In Germany, authorities are investigating claims that unidentified drones<\/a> may have spied on critical infrastructure in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein. Multiple drones were spotted on Sept. 25 over a power plant in the state capital of Kiel, as well as near a university hospital and a shipyard in the port city, according to a Der Spiegel report.<\/p>\n Regional Interior Minister Sabine S\u00fctterlin-Waack told a committee of the state parliament that flying objects of \u201cvarious types and sizes\u201d had been spotted. Chief Public Prosecutor Stephanie Gropp said an investigation was underway.<\/p>\n