The Kremlin mounted an 18-month drone surveillance campaign that probed nuclear sites and airbases across Europe.
Analysis by the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) of 144 incidents beginning in late 2024 concluded the operations ran with “substantial impunity” and left authorities confused.
“It is our assessment that it is highly likely that the Kremlin conducted a coordinated UAV campaign over Europe,” Charlie Edwards, a senior IISS fellow, said.
Targets named in the report include RAF Lakenheath and RAF Fairford in England, France’s Île Longue submarine base, and the Kleine-Brogel and Volkel airbases in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Investigators link many incursions to ships in international waters operating with transponders off, named vessels include the Seasons 1 tanker, the cargo ship Hav Dolphin, the tanker Boracay and the Maltese-flagged Vezhen, which the report says acted as launch, recovery or relay platforms.
Drones were repeatedly observed over airbases and airports yet none were captured or shot down; a police helicopter tracking one sortie withdrew for safety and firing an anti-drone laser was “suggested but ultimately not progressed”.
The IISS assessed motives as a mix of nuclear surveillance, general reconnaissance, mapping logistics and “economic attrition and psychological warfare”.
Sightings peaked in September and November 2025, with most in Germany, and appeared to drop after European navies began seizing shadow-fleet vessels in 2026.
