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EU Labels Drone and Airspace Incursions ‘Hybrid Warfare’ as Germany Advances Police Shoot-Down Powers

Officials are accelerating counter-UAV steps to close detection gaps.

Soldiers patrol the street after a drone struck a residential building, following violations of Polish airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine, in Wyryki municipality, Poland, on September 10, 2025.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument of Ismoli Somoni in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on October 8, 2025.
A couple sits as police inspect damage to their house, destroyed by debris from a shot-down Russian drone in the village of Wyryki-Wola, eastern Poland, on September 10, 2025.
Polish soldiers stand next to a Polish "Waran" armored multipurpose vehicle equipped with the Gladius drone system, during a military equipment display following military exercises of Poland and NATO allied countries in Orzysz, northwestern Poland, on September 17, 2025.

Overview

  • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Parliament the pattern of recent drone overflights and fighter incursions is deliberate "hybrid warfare," citing MiG violations of Estonia and drones over Belgium, Poland, Romania, Denmark and Germany.
  • The European Parliament is preparing a resolution warning of "Russian agents" using drones to disrupt air traffic, though most cases have not been formally attributed.
  • German lawmakers moved to grant local police authority to shoot down drones after Munich Airport’s Oct. 2 shutdown, but the plan still needs full parliamentary approval.
  • Recent sightings led airports in Denmark, Norway and Germany to curtail or halt flights, highlighting both growing disruption risks and the long-running rise in drone incidents.
  • Experts say small UAVs often evade traditional air-traffic radar and no single detection technology provides complete coverage, while recorded drone-aircraft collisions so far have caused no casualties.