An Irish navy ship spotted five drones operating near the flight path of Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy aircraft as he arrived for a State visit to Ireland on Monday night.
The sighting triggered a major security alert amid fears it was an attempt to interfere with the aircraft’s flight path.
A no-fly zone was in effect across the capital at the time. It is not known where the drones originated. Their range and loitering time indicate they were of a sophisticated type and flown by experienced users, sources said.
The drones appeared near the coast by Howth around the time Mr Zelenskiy’s aircraft was due to pass. However, his aircraft was slightly early. Sources said it was not in any danger.
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Officials are treating it as a potential attempt to disrupt flight operations rather than to attack a target. It mirrors recent incidents in other European Union countries where suspicious drones were used to shut down flight operations at airports.
EU security officials believe Russian agents are likely behind such incidents as part of their hybrid warfare and sabotage tactics targeting the EU.
[ Spike in Russian shadow fleet activities during Zelenskiy visitOpens in new window ]
News of the drone sightings was first reported by The Journal website.
The incident occurred during a spike in Russian shadow fleet activity off the west coast. Three sanctioned ships flying false flags were operating in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) at the time. However, there is currently no evidence they were involved in the incident.
The drones were spotted by the crew of LÉ William Butler Yeats, which was positioned in Dublin Bay as part of the large scale security operation in place for Mr Zelenskiy’s visit.
The Yeats was unable to take any action regarding the drones aside from observing and reporting their location. It is not equipped with jammers or other countermeasures.
The use of the ship’s weapons systems, including its 20mm cannons and 76mm main armament were not deployed amid fears the rounds could land in Dublin and cause injury.
The ship is equipped with its own small unmanned aerial vehicle but this has no attack capability.
An Air Corps C295 maritime patrol aircraft was also patrolling off south Dublin at the time before departing for Casement Aerodrome shortly after the Ukrainian president’s aircraft landed. It is not known if it spotted the aircraft.
The Air Corps aircraft was deployed again the following morning in the same area.
The drones would have had to have been launched from a position on land or sea, relatively close to the incident. However, they could have been controlled from anywhere in the world using satellite communications, sources said.
The Defence Forces is trying to establish who was behind the incident. Given the apparent sophistication of the piloting and equipment and the timing of the incursion, Russian security services are judged to be the most likely culprit, sources said.
However, sources stressed there is, as yet, no direct evidence for this.
The drones had their lights turned on and it appeared “they wanted to be seen”, a security source said.
“They had the capability and intent. They could have taken action at any moment of their choosing.”
The sequence of events has been confirmed by multiple sources, but Government departments have refused to comment.
The Departments of Justice and Transport referred queries to the Department of Defence. The Department of Defence “has no comment to make”, a spokesman said.
The Defence Forces said that, due to operational security reasons, it has no comment “on the specifics of any alleged incidents”.
The organisation said the security operation during the Ukrainian president’s visit was led by An Garda sSíochána, with Defence Forces support. This support was “successfully deployed in multiple means, ultimately leading to a safe and successful visit by the President Zelensky to Ireland”.
