West wakes up to Russian Federation drone incursion - mass media

Europe is alarmed after a series of daring incursions by Russian drones. According to The Telegraph, the wave of incidents has covered almost the entire continent and could lead to a dangerous escalation.

It all started on the evening of 9 September, when around 20 drones launched from Belarus crossed Polish airspace. A few of them were shot down, but the very fact that they penetrated the NATO zone became an alarming signal. Russia, as usual, denied involvement, but soon similar cases were recorded in Romania, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and other European countries," writes the publication.

European politicians are particularly concerned about the version of launching drones from the "shadow fleet" - Russian tankers travelling around sanctions. In particular, France temporarily detained the vessel Boracay during a wave of drone observations over the Baltic.

According to the newspaper, production of Geranium (Shahed-136) drones in Russia is going on around the clock - they are cheap "kamikazes" capable of hitting targets hundreds of kilometres away. Their mass use has already become a hallmark of Russian tactics in Ukraine, and now threatens Europe itself.

In response, EU countries are discussing the creation of a "drone wall" - a unified early warning and interception system, similar to Israel's Iron Dome. So far, however, there is no such defence.

The economic challenge is obvious: shooting down a cheap drone with a missile costing millions of euros is impossible in the long term. Therefore, Europe is looking for new solutions - lasers, electronic suppression and cheap interceptors," the article said.

The number of defence startups is growing rapidly against the backdrop of the threat. Private companies such as Helsing and Kraken are offering innovative systems to protect the skies. However, experts urge the EU to act faster: "We need to procure technology in months, not years."

Ukraine's experience has shown that drones have already become the weapon of the future. And now, when Russian drones appear over Europe, Western capitals have to decide who will win in the technology race," the authors of the material note.