Estonian experts have indicated that Europe is not ready to confront the hybrid attacks that have taken over Europe in recent weeks, and that authorities should be given more freedom, for example, to shoot down drones, writes ERR News.
In recent weeks, drone sightings at European airports in Denmark, Norway and Germany have led to the cancellation or redirection of hundreds of flights. Vilnius Airport also temporarily suspended operations on the morning of the 5th of October. Balloons used by smugglers to transport cigarettes across the Lithuanian-Belarusian border have been spotted in the area. Violations of airspace have also been recorded in Latvia and Poland.
Tomas Jermalavicius, a researcher at the Lithuanian Defense and Security Center, said that smuggler balloons are a chronic problem, but the disruption caused by drones means that Europe as a whole is not ready for hybrid threats. He said governments had failed to meet their responsibilities to prevent problems and
had failed to address the organisational, legal and technical challenges posed by hybrid threats.
Two years ago, during a reservist training exercise at the Ämari Air Base in Estonia, a drone of unknown origin appeared in the sky. Expert Andrus Padar said there were not enough specialists to deal with such cases. The Aviation Act states that the Traffic Administration should do this, but it is short of staff. The police are also in the same situation. Padar said it was time to review the allocation of resources.
One option could be to expand the range of institutions allowed to act to protect themselves against drones. Padar said that consideration was being given to whether, for example, electricity grid operators could be given permission to take the necessary steps to protect themselves.
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