Norway Detains ‘Tourists’ Who Launched Drones Near One of Its Main Fleet Bases

A group of ‘tourists’ launched several drones near one of the main bases of the Norwegian Navy.

NRK reported on this.

The incident took place near the Ramsund base, a key naval base and logistics hub for Norway’s fleet in the north of the country.

According to the report, a group of six foreign tourists was behind the drone flights. All individuals involved were fined, and two drones were confiscated.

Local police are investigating the case. It is not yet known whether the group may be linked to Russian intelligence services.

In January, it was reported that Russia had increased the presence of suspected spies near the border with Norway and had also attempted to enter the country using fishing vessels calling at Norwegian ports.

Amid a rise in reported cases involving suspected Russian intelligence activity and a general deterioration in the security environment in Scandinavia, Norway plans to double the number of military personnel in its northern region by 2032.

This aligns with Oslo’s broader policy of strengthening defenses in the north and expanding military capabilities in the coming years.

The area includes a 198-kilometer border with Russia, which has been steadily reinforced since November 2025, including through new physical barriers, surveillance systems and drones for aerial monitoring.

Russian drones over bases in Europe

At the end of 2025, in December, it was reported that drones monitoring military facilities in Europe had been launched from civilian ships near the coast.

These included unidentified drone flights over sites in Germany and the Netherlands. Journalists noted that during the same period, cargo vessels behaved unusually off the coasts of those countries, including remaining anchored without clear reason or carrying out atypical maneuvers.

Investigators then analyzed open-source data, including ship tracking records, and identified a pattern: when certain vessels were near the coast or remained at sea for extended periods, unidentified drone activity was recorded nearby over military facilities.

The investigation identified three vessels that repeatedly exhibited this behavior, including the HAV Dolphin and HAV Snapper cargo ships.