Europe Suspects Russia’s Shadow Fleet of Involvement in Drone Launches

Russia is suspected of using tankers to launch drones over sensitive targets in Europe.

This is stated in a report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

This was done to identify vulnerabilities in air defense systems.

The campaign, which involved 144 instances of drones penetrating the airspace of twelve NATO countries and Ireland, was intended to test the effectiveness of European air defense systems.

European systems have a harder time detecting low-altitude, slow-moving, and small targets, particularly drones.

The report’s authors note that European countries’ responses to these incidents have been “inconsistent” and “fragmented,” with slow identification of perpetrators and “often disproportionate” responses. It is also reported that several governments are continuing active investigations.

According to the IISS, the incidents were part of a broader campaign involving the use of drones over European countries, primarily Germany, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The report was published on Thursday.

144 incidents

IISS researchers analyzed 144 incidents involving drone intrusions between August 2024 and February 2026.

Some incidents caused significant disruptions, including temporary airport closures. Drones also intruded into strategic defense facilities, including bases housing U.S. nuclear munitions and a French base for ballistic missile submarines.

Approximately half of all recorded incidents involved military facilities. According to the researchers’ assessment, the campaign was intended to test and map the capabilities of European air defense systems, which were largely designed to counter missiles, bombers, and fighter jets, rather than small drones.

European countries have largely avoided directly accusing Russia, although the report’s authors state that the connection is obvious.

“We believe it is likely that Russia-linked vessels and its shadow fleet were used as maritime platforms for launching or recovering drones, or as signal relay nodes,” report co-author Charlie Edwards shared.

He also noted that the absence of such activity in the Mediterranean Sea is due to stronger surveillance capabilities—particularly maritime monitoring—and the presence of U.S. submarines. According to him, moving undetected, let alone launching drones, in this region is significantly more difficult.

Study co-author Louis Burn reported that several governments are continuing their investigations.

He also added that since inspections and searches of shadow fleet vessels began earlier this year, there have been almost no incidents involving drones.

The report assessed Europe’s response rather harshly, describing it as “uneven” and “fragmented,” with the identification of those responsible proceeding too slowly and “often disproportionate” response methods.

Recently, in the Baltic Sea, Greenpeace activists spotted the tanker Kira K, which was transporting Russian oil, escorted by the Russian corvette Soobrazitelnyi.