Police investigating after unidentified drone spotted over Norwegian airport
An unidentified drone was observed flying over Bronnoysund Airport in Norway late on Sept. 30, according to local police, as reported by Norwegian media outlet NRK.
The incident comes amid heightened concerns across Europe over the presence of unauthorized drones near critical infrastructure, particularly in the wake of increased geopolitical tensions and frequent airspace violations involving Russia.
Police responded to the incident around 8 p.m. local time amid reports of the low-flying drone observed by staff in the airport's control tower.
"We have concluded the search with the police resources we had in the area. We had observation of the drone in the air, but we were unable to locate any pilot associated with it," a Nordland Police District spokesperson told NRK.
Authorities have launched an investigation are attempting to determine the type and origin of the drone. Local police did not say whether they have identified any person of interest related to the incident.
Similar drone sightings in recent weeks have disrupted operations at major transportation hubs, including Oslo Airport in Norway and Copenhagen Airport in Denmark, both of which were temporarily shut down as a precaution.
A day earlier on Sept. 29, an unidentified drone was also observed flying over Norwegian Equinor-operated Sleipner gas field in the North Sea.
President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Sept. 28 of launching the drones towards European cities using the aid of Moscow's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers.
In early September, Polish forces shot down several Russian drones that had entered their airspace. A Russian drone was also detected over Romanian territory a few days later, though Bucharest opted not to engage it.
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets also briefly entered Estonian airspace on Sept. 19, remaining there for 12 minutes before being intercepted by NATO forces.
