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Sweden escalates ‘drone hunt’ as more illegal flights are spotted over nuclear sites, palaces

The drone scare in Sweden continues to intensify with the police confirming new illegal drone flights over sensitive areas including nuclear facilities, government buildings, and the Royal Palace.

As the Swedish Security Service reported it was taking over the investigation into unauthorized drone sightings over nuclear power plants on Friday, alarms were again set off on Monday evening with more drones being spotted over not just nuclear sites but also the country’s parliament building and both the working palace and the private residence of Sweden’s monarch, King Carl XVI Gustaf. Drones were spotted earlier at Kiruna and Luleå airports, too.

With the intentions of these drones remaining unknown, the Swedish Police Authority and the Coast Guard are now investigating the Stockholm archipelago to determine if the aircraft could have come from the sea.

As local newspaper Aftonbladet described this “drone hunt,” it reported that several police officials had become eyewitnesses to the latest sightings. Daniel Wikdahl at the police’s regional command center told Aftonbladet:

Private individuals have made various observations. We ourselves have made several observations of drones. These are several different places in Greater Stockholm.

The illegal drones that were observed on Monday are being widely described as military-style with large wings “at least two meters in width.”

In the meantime, Sweden’s Security Service, also known by the Swedish acronym Säpo, said it suspects Friday’s drone patrols of “grave unauthorized dealing with secret information.” However, it would not comment on the latest sightings since “it’s so far a matter for the police.”

In general, the security threats against Sweden have increased with a broader and more in-depth intelligence threat and a more complex threat picture.

Swedish Security Service

It’s worth highlighting that these drone sightings come at a time of increased military alert in Sweden. The country’s military has recently started patrolling the main town on the Baltic Sea island of Gotland amid increased tensions between NATO and Russia over the Russian military buildup near the borders of Ukraine.

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Avatar for Ishveena Singh Ishveena Singh

Ishveena Singh is a versatile journalist and writer with a passion for drones and location technologies. She has been named as one of the 50 Rising Stars of the geospatial industry for the year 2021 by Geospatial World magazine.