Denmark bans all drone flights ahead of European Summit in Copenhagen

Denmark has decided to ban all civilian drone flights from Monday to Friday after UAVs were again observed above several military facilities over the weekend, in the latest incident involving unauthorised incursions Danish authorities said were "hybrid attacks".

As Denmark gears up for the upcoming European Union Summit in Copenhagen, “all civilian drones flying in Danish airspace will be prohibited" to “remove the risk that enemy drones can be confused with legal drones and vice versa,” the Danish Transportation Ministry said Sunday.

“We cannot accept that foreign drones create uncertainty and disturbances in society, as we have experienced recently," Danish Transportation Minister Thomas Danielsen said in a statement.

"At the same time, Denmark will host EU leaders in the coming week, where we will have extra focus on security,” Danielsen added.

“A violation of the prohibition can result in a fine or imprisonment for up to two years," according to the statement.

The ban does not apply to military drone flights, drones used by state-run aviation, including police and emergency services, as well as municipal and regional emergency and health-related operations.

Denmark's defence ministry said it had again observed drones at several of its armed forces' locations on Sunday, a day after it had “several capacities deployed” following separate sightings on Saturday.

Following a NATO meeting in Riga on Saturday, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe spokesperson Colonel Martin O’Donnell announced that “we will conduct even more enhanced vigilance with new multi-domain assets in the Baltic Sea region, which includes Denmark, under Baltic Sentry.”

He also said that NATO leaders were in constant contact with Danish officials following the drone sightings.

German frigate arrives in Copenhagen

On Sunday afternoon, the Danish Defence Ministry announced that the German air defence frigate FGS Hamburg had arrived in Copenhagen.

“Here, the ship will contribute to strengthening Denmark’s surveillance of the airspace in connection with the upcoming EU summit in Copenhagen,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The German frigate is part of NATO’s Baltic Sentry activity, which is intended to strengthen NATO’s presence along the alliance’s eastern flank.”

Separately, Germany stated that following a request from Denmark its armed forces would provide military support for the upcoming EU summit through Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-sUAS) capabilities, which utilise detection systems that employ radar, optical and acoustic technologies.

Sweden had already announced earlier that it would "lend Denmark a military anti-drone capability” without giving further details.

Tensions have been running high in Denmark following multiple reports of drone sightings last week that temporarily forced Danish airports to shut down.

Danish Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard said last Thursday that the goal of the flyovers is to sow fear and division, adding that the country will seek additional ways to neutralise drones, including proposing legislation to allow infrastructure owners to shoot them down.

While it is not clear who is behind the drone activity, Denmark’s prime minister and NATO’s secretary-general said last week that Russian involvement could not be ruled out.