Nato to increase Baltic Sea presence after Denmark drone incursions
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Vessels from various countries taking part in a German military and Nato exercise in the Baltic Sea on Sept 2.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
- Nato upgrades Baltic Sea mission with air-defence frigate after drone incursions near Danish military sites and airports.
- "Baltic Sentry" mission had enhanced the protection of critical infrastructure after damage to cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea.
- Nato warns Russia against aggression, following Russian drone incursions into Poland and airspace violation in Estonia.
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RIGA – Nato said on Sept 27 it is upgrading its mission in the Baltic Sea with an air-defence frigate and other assets in response to drone incursions in Denmark.
Unidentified drones were observed near military installations in Denmark several drone incursions near airports and critical infrastructure
Copenhagen Airport, the Nordic region’s busiest, closed for several hours late on Sept 22 as several large drones were seen in its airspace. Five smaller Danish airports, both civilian and military, were also shut temporarily in the following days.
In response, Nato will “conduct even more enhanced vigilance with new multi-domain assets in the Baltic Sea region”, it said, in a statement e-mailed to Reuters.
The alliance said the new assets included “intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms and at least one air-defence frigate”.
A Nato spokesperson said it would not provide details on which countries were contributing the extra assets.
The new assets will enhance Nato’s “Baltic Sentry” mission, launched in January
Nato countries have deployed frigates, patrol aircraft and naval drones as part of the mission, to help protect critical infrastructure.
The alliance also launched the “Eastern Sentry” mission in September to bolster the defence of Europe’s eastern flank Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace.
It warned Russia on Sept 23 that it would use “all necessary military and non-military tools” to defend itself after Estonia said on Sept 19 that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated its airspace for 12 minutes
Russia has disputed that Russian jets violated Estonia’s airspace and said that its drones had not planned to hit targets in Poland.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said on Sept 27 that the threat from drones was “high” and that the country would take measures to defend itself.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Nato and the European Union on Sept 27 that “any aggression against my country will be met with a decisive response”. REUTERS
