Russian Drones Have Violated NATO Airspace 144 Times — and a New Report Says They Were Quietly Mapping Europe’s Defenses for War

A new IISS report lays out an alarming pattern: 144 Russian drone incursions across 13 European countries in 15 months — over nuclear-sharing sites, a French ballistic missile submarine base, ports and power plants — operating "with effective impunity." The drones, many launched from disguised Russian-linked ships offshore, weren't just harassing. The report concludes they were systematically mapping NATO's air defenses and testing its reactions, using a Soviet-era playbook — probing the exact targets Moscow would strike in a war. Europe's response so far: almost nothing.