Russia Used Civilian Tankers to Launch 144 Drone Spy Missions Over NATO Nuclear Sites
A new IISS study finds that Russian-linked shadow fleet vessels almost certainly served as mobile launch platforms for drones that systematically surveilled nuclear weapons storage sites, submarine bases, and US forward-deployed airbases across 13 European countries over 19 months. The campaign's real intelligence value wasn't imagery but provocation: recording which radars activated, which jets scrambled, and which command nodes opened communications. Drone overflights virtually ceased once suspect vessels were detained, a correlation that has already forced the UK to legislate shoot-down powers, pushed NATO toward Article 4 consultations, and accelerated a EU drone defense initiative with a 2027 target date.