Around the world
Cases and official studies across Europe, from Belgium to Scandinavia. 61 events, newest first.
Select any year above to see what happened that year.
Military21 Nov 2025
The Dutch Ministry of Defence said unidentified drones were seen over Volkel Air Base between 7 and 9 p.m. and personnel fired at them with ground-based weapons. The drones left and no wreckage was found. Drone sightings halted flights at Eindhoven the next evening.
Photo: Ministerie van Defensie, CC0
Sightings9 Nov 2025
Operator Engie said drones flew over the Doel nuclear plant near Antwerp on the evening of Nov. 9, 2025, first counting three and then five, aloft for about an hour. Operations were not affected. The operators were not identified; it followed drone reports over Belgian military bases.
Photo: Tadmouri, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sightings4 Nov 2025
Days after drones were reported over Kleine-Brogel air base, drone sightings disrupted Brussels Airport on the evening of Nov. 4, 2025, and briefly halted Liege Airport on Nov. 6 and 7. Belgium's National Security Council met and the defense minister pledged a stronger air security center.
Photo: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 4.0
Military1 Nov 2025
Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said drones flew over Kleine-Brogel air base, widely reported to store U.S. nuclear weapons, over the nights of Nov. 1-2, 2025. A jammer failed and pursuers lost a drone. He called it a likely spy operation but named no one responsible.
Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joshua Dewberry, Public domain
Sightings31 Oct 2025
Berlin Brandenburg Airport suspended takeoffs and landings for almost two hours after a drone was reported nearby, diverting a series of flights. Police sent a patrol car and helicopter; officers saw a drone but its operator was not found.
Photo: Roy Zuo, CC BY-SA 4.0
Whistleblowers24 Oct 2025
The Sol Foundation held its third UAP symposium on the shores of Lake Maggiore in northern Italy, October 24-27, 2025. Listed speakers included Karl Nell, Jacques Vallee, Garry Nolan, Tim Gallaudet, Beatriz Villarroel and Jake Barber.
Photo: Killarnee, CC BY-SA 4.0
Government8 Oct 2025
Germany's cabinet approved a draft law letting federal police bring down drones that violate German airspace, including by shooting them in acute danger, and planned a police counter-drone unit. It followed drone sightings that disrupted Munich Airport; parliament still had to pass it.
Photo: H-stt, CC BY-SA 4.0
Military3 Oct 2025
Belgian broadcaster VRT reported that 15 drones flew over the Elsenborn army camp around 1:45 a.m. and were also seen by police in Dueren, Germany. Defence Minister Theo Francken's office confirmed an investigation; who flew them was not known.
Photo: Unknown photographer, Public domain
Sightings2 Oct 2025
Munich Airport suspended flights on the evenings of Oct. 2 and 3, 2025 after unconfirmed drone sightings, amid a wave of drone incidents across Europe; thousands of passengers were affected. Germany's interior minister promised faster rules letting police call on the military to shoot drones down.
Photo: Thomas Kniess, CC BY-SA 3.0
Government28 Sep 2025
After a week of unexplained drone sightings and airport closures, Denmark's transport ministry banned civilian drone flights from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3, 2025, for an EU summit in Copenhagen, saying it would avoid confusing legal drones with hostile ones.
Photo: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0
Military27 Sep 2025
Norway's Armed Forces and police reported two possible drones near Orland, home of the air force's F-35s, early on Sept. 27, 2025. Police, PST and the military investigated and set a 10 km no-fly zone; police said it was too early to say what was seen.
Photo: yetdark from Hamburg, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0
Military26 Sep 2025
Der Spiegel reported drones over Kiel's ThyssenKrupp submarine yard and harbor and the Heide refinery around Sept. 26, 2025. Schleswig-Holstein's premier said the flights aimed to unsettle. Who flew them was not established.
Photo: Marco Kuntzsch, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sightings26 Sep 2025
Amid Denmark's wave of drone alarms, Billund, the country's second-largest airport, was briefly closed early on September 26, 2025 after a report of illegal drone activity. Police later said the object behind that report was a shining star in the sky.
Photo: Nico-dk, CC BY-SA 3.0
Government25 Sep 2025
After drones closed Copenhagen airport on September 22 and appeared over Aalborg, Esbjerg, Sonderborg and Skrydstrup air base, Denmark's defence minister called it a hybrid attack by a professional actor. No perpetrator was named; Russia denied involvement.
Photo: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0
Military25 Sep 2025
Danish Defence said drones had been observed at several military sites, including Skrydstrup Air Base, home to Denmark's F-16s and F-35s. A revised military report in 2026 conceded soldiers who fired at a suspected drone there may have fired while a civilian aircraft passed.
Photo: Beethoven9, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sightings22 Sep 2025
Oslo's main airport closed for several hours overnight after drones were reported in its airspace, on the same night drone sightings shut Copenhagen Airport. It reopened early on Sept. 23; Norway's security service PST said it was involved in the investigation.
Photo: Avinor Oslo lufthavn/Espen Solli, CC BY 3.0
Military10 Sep 2025
During a Russian attack on Ukraine, drones crossed into Poland overnight; Prime Minister Donald Tusk said 19 entered and that Polish and allied aircraft shot down three or four. Poland invoked NATO's Article 4, opening consultations with its allies.
Sightings19 Feb 2025
Early on February 19, 2025, bright flashes were seen over parts of Poland. The Polish Space Agency said a Falcon 9 rocket stage from a SpaceX Starlink launch had made an uncontrolled reentry, and fragments were later confirmed at four sites near Poznan.
Photo: NASA Headquarters / NASA/Aubrey Gemignani, Public domain
MilitaryJan 2025
German press, citing a classified Bundeswehr report, said professional drones of unknown origin hovered over the Schwesing air defence base near Husum in six incidents from Jan. 9 to 29, 2025. Jammers failed to force them down and no operators were found; espionage was suspected but unproven.
MilitaryDec 2024
Drones of varying size were reported around the U.S. Air Force's Ramstein Air Base in early December 2024, and an Air Force spokesperson confirmed the sightings. The base said it would monitor the airspace with German authorities. Police were then probing similar reports at Bavarian bases.
Photo: Beowulf Tomek, CC BY-SA 4.0
Government19 Nov 2024
At a Senate hearing, AARO released December 2018 infrared drone video that seemed to show an object passing through Mount Etna's eruption plume. AARO said atmospheric distortion caused the effect and assessed with moderate confidence the object was a balloon drifting with the wind.
Photo: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC, Public domain
SightingsAug 2024
In August 2024 police in Schleswig-Holstein reported repeated night drone flights over Brunsbuttel's chemical park and LNG terminal, up to five per night. Flensburg prosecutors opened an inquiry on suspicion of sabotage-related espionage; no operator was publicly identified.
Photo: Steffen Papenbroock, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sightings21 Jan 2024
Krisztian Sarneczky in Hungary discovered a meter-scale asteroid hours before it entered the atmosphere about 50 km west of Berlin at 00:32 UTC. Searchers recovered dozens of fragments near Ribbeck, a rare aubrite meteorite.
Photo: Andreas Moller, CC BY-SA 4.0
Military27 Apr 2023
Poland's defence ministry said the remains of an unidentified aerial military object were found in a forest near Bydgoszcz; prosecutors opened a probe. The government said it had tracked an object in December and then lost it; media later reported a Russian Kh-55 cruise missile.
Photo: George Chernilevsky, Public domain
SightingsFeb 2023
In early February 2023 drone reports suspended operations at Dublin Airport on several days, diverting flights to Belfast and Shannon; on one day the airport later said no drone was present. Irish ministers met aviation officials and police, and a man was charged over an earlier January incident.
Photo: Skullical, CC0
