Two incidents that lit up Western airspace in the past 48 hours have escalated deep concerns about Russian-linked hybrid warfare: drones over Denmark’s airports and warplanes near Alaska.
There is no proof the events are linked, but together, they illustrate a sharpened pattern of pressure tactics that Russia and others have mastered.
In Denmark, seemingly coordinated drone flights forced the closure of multiple airports, including Aalborg, Billund and Esbjerg. Danish authorities are now calling it a “professional” operation, not a prank.
A similar disruption took place Monday. Police and defense didn’t know definitively if it was a prank or something more.
On Thursday, they quickly labeled Wednesday night’s incursions as a hybrid attack: deliberate disruption designed to unsettle the public, drain resources and probe gaps in air defense. No person or organization has claimed responsibility, but suspicion points squarely toward Russia, which has used similar low-cost tactics across Europe.
Over the Bering Sea, off the coast of Alaska, the tactics were different but followed the same logic.
Two Russian Tu-95 bombers and two Su-35 fighters entered the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone. NORAD scrambled F-16s and an E-3 Sentry to intercept and escort them out. The Russian jets stayed in international airspace.
This cat-and-mouse game has been going on for years, but the timing, coming as Europe reels from drone disruptions, reminds Washington that Moscow can run operations on both sides of the Atlantic at once.
What connects these events is not coordination, but strategy. They probe defenses and force NATO and the U.S. to respond. They create friction, uncertainty and headlines — without crossing the legal or military threshold that would trigger a shootdown or a war.
That is the essence of modern pressure tactics: Deliver an intimidating message while denying adversaries the clear justification to strike back.
Western officials know this. That’s why the U.S. didn’t even hint at firing on the Russian planes, and why Denmark is still investigating carefully before naming names. Both cases reveal the uncomfortable truth: Russia can keep raising the temperature through drones, flybys and cyber intrusions, while Western governments are left balancing deterrence with restraint.
The link is unmistakable. But similarity is not proof of a single plot. It’s proof of a playbook — one that exploits gray zones where fear and ambiguity do the work of missiles.
But it’s not lost on Moscow that discussions are underway among NATO countries about shooting down Russian military planes that deliberately enter their airspace without permission.
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