For security reasons the military has only been able to speak in general terms on whether the flights may have been coordinated and/or conducted with the involvement of any foreign state. The EDF has been dealing with the incident, rather than the civilian Transport Administration (Transpordiamet).

Lt Col. (Res) Arbo Probal, commander of the EDF's unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), said: "In late autumn, in October, there was a period of several weeks when we were observing drone flights near military compounds. This activity mainly took place in Tapa and Jõhvi."

The EDF deployed the necessary countermeasures after detecting the drones, he said, adding details on this cannot be shared. "We identified the drones, sighted them, and carried out our procedures, which we would prefer not to elaborate on."

When asked to elaborate even a little on what was done when drones were detected, he said: "Let's just say we visually identified them, as their lights were switched on — presumably to observe how we detect them and what our escalation protocol is. At the same time we confirmed via various surveillance tools that they were drones, not something else. We have spoken with some of the operators, and proceedings have been initiated against others. Naturally, we can't always take all drones down, but we responded and were capable of reacting. I don't want to go into detail on our procedures."

"We have capabilities, electronic countermeasures, as Estonian law allows for electronic jamming, blocking a drone's control signal and disrupting it. That is one of many options. If we assess the threat as more serious, we can resort to physical destruction of drones, though we haven't had to do that yet," Probal added.

May have been a test of EDF responses

Going back to whether the incidents could have been testing EDF's reactions, Probal said: "That is one possible conclusion, yes. What do we do? Everything has a reason, and this might have been one; to map our actions, comprehend how we react, how we escalate, whether we bring in more force, and so on. This is also one reason why we don't want to talk much about our methods. If they couldn't find out otherwise, they could just read it in the papers or listen to the radio if we blab, then we won't have fulfilled our mission."

What is also noteworthy is that last fall's drone activity in Estonia coincided with similar incidents in the U.S. and the U.K., Probal noted.

"This just made us pay even more attention. No one is ruling out coincidence, but as it happened around the same time, in multiple areas, we wanted to take a closer look. For this reason we ordered soldiers, officers, and NCOs to be on a higher alertness. For this reason, this information was also widely disseminated," he went on, referring to military and security circles.

Probal stressed that, according to EDF data, the drone flights did not constitute hostile reconnaissance. "But we still need to stay vigilant," he added.

Probal could not specify how many drones and operators were involved.

"There were some. Just at different times, because this was a longer period; they came and went at different moments. For operational security reasons, we won't give out figures or other details, so the other side can't draw conclusions about who coordinated or planned it. So I won't mention numbers," said Probal.

"Proceedings have been initiated against them, and I can at least state that we haven't received confirmation that these men or women, the operators, were specifically linked to the Russian Federation's intelligence services. So we didn't get that confirmation," Probal stressed.

Ordinary store-bought drones slightly modified

When asked by ERR whether and how people who flew the drones were dealt with, EDF spokesperson Lt Liis Vaksmann said she couldn't go into specific cases, individuals had been detained, questioned, and in some cases fined, under misdemeanor proceedings.

"In such cases, a penalty of up to 200 fine units can be imposed," Vaksmann stated. The current value of a fine unit is €8, up from €4 last year.

ERR asked the Transport Administration as the responsible body for airspace violations about last October's incident. However, administration spokesperson Kristiina Tilk said: "The Transport Administration has no involvement in this matter. The EDF have not involved us in handling this/these incident(s) in any way."

Under the Defense Organization Act, the EDF also has the right to handle incidents of this kind.

When asked about the type of drones used in the incident, Probal said they were ordinary store-bought consumer varieties, albeit modified slightly. "Some had been modified, as otherwise the GPS lock wouldn't allow them to fly over a military area, where there are geofencing restrictions. And with consumer drones, they can't really go far from where they are launched. So nothing extraordinary — mainly off-the-shelf stuff."

As to the frequency of drone flights near military zones, Probal replied this did not happen constantly. "This was one period when we recorded the drone activity. We have actually heard of similar periods from public sources about our allies — in the U.S. and U.K. — and also incidents at civilian airports in Sweden. We often hear of such cases at civilian airfields."

"Right now we consider it an isolated case — confined to that period in time," he added.

Nonetheless, drone incidents have affected the EDF in the past, Probal conceded, highlighting Ämari air base, a particularly sensitive area due to the NATO jets which are based there.

In terms of changes prompted by these incidents, Probal pointed to initiatives for amending legislation, as well as revising and expanding internal military procedures.

The EDF have already provided input to the ministry for updating the Aviation Act and the Electronic Communications Act on who may jam frequencies and under what conditions. "So we can act more proactively in certain cases, and maybe even preemptively and more quickly. Plus our internal physical procedures: We're upgrading our capabilities, better defining soldier duties—what, where, and how they must act to make it easier for them; better instructing the duty officer service so they understand their roles and capabilities. And of course, equipping rapid responders who should handle security in different situations with appropriate tools. That's what we're doing now—procedures, equipment, and guidance," Probal explained.

Incident gets full cooperation of NATO allies

He added that cooperation in the area is also ongoing with NATO allies.

"NATO has various working parties — one literally termed the 'small drone countermeasures group,' which I also attend. There is constant sharing of information, best practices, and solutions. So in that respect, we're not alone with our knowledge or concerns — this information exchange is ongoing," Probal added.

Probal also acknowledged that civilian amateur drone operators often are unaware of the current regulations — including on where drone flying is and isn't permitted. But ignorance of the law doesn't exempt them from penalties, and such violations can be costly.

"So our message, which we want to emphasize strongly, is: Please avoid flying near our territory," he implored the public. "Avoid flying near the EDF or near military exercises — in that case half the battle is already won. Then we can focus on those who are genuinely malicious, not just those being foolish."

"First, it causes false alarms. If someone flies a drone out of ignorance, this may trigger a false alert for us. We respond to that, but in the end, no one gains — our resources get wasted, and the individual ends up having to look for their drone," Probal added. "For us, a drone flying nearby is always a red flag."

This involved some triaging of threats, he noted.

"If a person's awareness already performs that triage for us — by not flying in the first place — then we can start pointing fingers and say this is truly a malicious or deliberate actor, not just someone ignorant. So common sense helps us do our job better and stay more vigilant," he concluded.

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