NATO announced on Saturday that it is strengthening its Baltic Sea mission by deploying an air-defence frigate and additional assets in response to a series of drone incursions over Denmark. The Danish Armed Forces reported unidentified drones flying near military installations overnight, following multiple drone sightings near airports and critical infrastructure earlier in the week.
Copenhagen Airport, the busiest in the Nordic region, was forced to shut down for several hours on Monday after large drones entered its airspace. Five other Danish airports, both civilian and military, also experienced temporary closures due to drone activity.
In a statement, NATO confirmed it would “conduct even more enhanced vigilance with new multi-domain assets in the Baltic Sea region.” These include surveillance, intelligence, and reconnaissance platforms, along with at least one air-defence frigate. While the alliance has not disclosed which member states are contributing, the assets will reinforce NATO’s Baltic Sentry mission, launched in January to protect critical undersea infrastructure such as power cables, telecom links, and gas pipelines.
The Baltic Sentry mission has already deployed frigates, patrol aircraft, and naval drones to secure the region. Earlier this month, NATO also launched the Eastern Sentry mission to reinforce Europe’s eastern flank, following Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace.
Tensions rose further after Estonia accused Russia of violating its airspace with MiG-31 fighter jets, prompting NATO aircraft from Italy to escort them out. Russia denied the violation and claimed its drones were not targeting Poland.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt emphasized that the drone threat remains “high,” while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned NATO and the EU that any aggression against Russia would face a “decisive response.”
This latest NATO move underscores growing security concerns in Northern Europe as drone activity, infrastructure sabotage, and airspace violations increase near the Baltic Sea region.