🔗 Share this article

The disturbing inquiry occupying the thoughts of many who have spotted them above is: what's the purpose?

A local resident had little doubt about what appeared before him when an unusual crimson glow showed up between his residence and outbuilding on the western coastline of Norway one chilly evening in the end of September.

The parent of three children, a salmon fisher and rescue worker, had just driven his adolescent boy home from football practice when they paused suddenly by an object overhead in the clear Norwegian sky.

"Between the garage and the house I spot a strange light that doesn't typically appear. My son and I instantly identify it's a flying device," he said. "We pause for several moments and observe and we observe the scarlet beacons. It was apparent to me it was substantial in size. Roughly 150 centimeters in width."

As someone familiar with unmanned aircraft, he understood completely of the regulations near his property close to a regional airport, a key base for the North Atlantic alliance and Norway's aerial defense.

Rising Anxieties

It was rare to witness a flying device operating after dark. However, only when the next morning, when he read about the unauthorized drone flights at airfields in Norway, that he began considering about it.

The young boys were worried. He sought to provide context. "As it stands now, we are removed from the conflict that's happening but I think someone is watching us and attempting to gauge how we behave to aerial devices," he said.

The observer notes he remains unafraid yet, but the sightings have already had certain mental impacts on the Norwegian population. He thinks the situation in the European continent could escalate fast. "As more people see the drones, increasing numbers wonder what is happening. They are curious."

Broad Distribution

Following multiple unmanned aircraft were destroyed in Poland's territorial airspace last month, sightings of remotely piloted aircraft have spread across the region, encompassing events that have shut down important airfields.

The Danish prime minister spoke to the country after the closure of Copenhagen airport. "We're experiencing the initial phases of an unconventional conflict against Europe," she stated.

A violation over the German airfield recently required air traffic control to cease functions, resulting in the scrapping of 17 flights and affecting journeys for thousands of air travelers.

Historical Comparisons

The intrusions in Northern Europe display significant historical parallels, said an academic expert in the study of psychological impacts.

"As the expression goes that the past doesn't exactly replicate, but it shows patterns – and the present situation over the Nordic countries is the rhyming of history," he explained. "There is a long history of aerial phenomenon anxieties over these areas where the source was thought to originate from either the eastern neighbor or the historical superpower."

Before World War II it was "ghost planes" that created anxiety, thought to be hostile Soviet aircraft on surveillance operations as a prelude to a military attack.

"Many of these reports align with recognized cosmic phenomena like Venus low in the horizon," said the academic. "No flying machine of that era could have remained aloft for the durations that it was frequently seen. Advancing to the mid-forties and Scandinavian nations were showing concern regarding mass sightings of 'ghost rockets'."

Emotional Effects

Additionally, there exists a psychological impact that is insufficiently acknowledged, explained a project director focusing on unmanned aircraft impacts.

"In my opinion the intrusions are a way to spook and to challenge," she explained. "So drones typically work in this ambiguous area where they demonstrate their existence, their capabilities, they show that there are weaknesses, but they don't kind of yet tip into that full-scale aggression that we're observing in Ukraine and Russia."

An additional academic involved in the research said that since man used flight in conflict, a significant outcome was to "turn peaceful skies into a continuous danger source."

Current Situation

The unmanned aircraft observations of the current year cannot be described psychological projections but they're happening amid a "perfect storm" of global pressures driven by eastern expansionism and concerns over the instability of historical military associate America.

"Abruptly, numerous European nations like Denmark are feeling more vulnerable than they've felt for many years," he noted.

"Within this atmosphere, what we're observing is a collective anxiety attack where the airspace has become a societal indicator of the current era, caused by limitations in human observation and concern."

With seasonal changes and the days are getting shorter, which results in more hours of darkness which should not be underestimated as it contributes to the unclear nature of these circumstances.

"It's unlikely beneficial for people experiencing mental health challenges," concluded the researcher.