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European countries are ill-prepared to counter drone attacks from Russia and currently unable to attribute these attacks unambiguously, according to a study by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) published on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The ISS study, in which Germany’s Hanns Seidel Foundation participated, found that European states were unable to clearly attribute drone attacks – for example, on airports or sensitive military facilities – to Russia.<\/p>\n
“This report assesses it is highly likely that the Kremlin conducted a UAV (Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle) campaign over Europe,” the study says.<\/p>\n
“Our key judgement is that Europe’s current counter-UAV architecture does not yet match the threat, despite NATO, the European Union and national governments focusing more attention on the issue: detection is uneven, legal authorities are fragmented, response options are often disproportionate and attribution remains too slow to support timely deterrence,” it says.<\/p>\n
The study says that attribution remains a key challenge for European governments and notes that none have thus far publicly attributed a UAV sighting to Russia.<\/p>\n
“One reason, European officials have suggested to us as part of our research, is that the relevant governments focused on the national response rather than connecting the dots across Europe,” it says.<\/p>\n
Commenting on the report, Klaus Holetschek, chairman of the Hanns Seidel Foundation, said: “It is alarming. Europe is so far not sufficiently prepared for this form of hybrid threat.”<\/p>\n
The study took in 144 cases between August 2024 and February 2026 in 12 NATO member states and Ireland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n