Finnish border guard begins drone interception training after recent incidents
The Finnish Border Guard has launched a five-day drone defence exercise in the eastern Gulf of Finland near Kotka, aiming to destroy stray drones over water to prevent damage on land, Yle reports. The training follows last week’s crashes of Ukrainian military drones in southeastern Finland, which exposed gaps in the country’s air defence capabilities.
Coastal patrol vessels were equipped with a new remote-controlled drone countermeasure system at Kotka’s Kuusinen island base on Sunday. The system allows crews to disrupt drone flights and shoot them down from patrol boats. Two armed coastal guard vessels, a smaller patrol boat, and the offshore patrol vessel Turva are participating in the drills, which run until Thursday evening.
Deputy Commander Ilja Iljin of the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard Unit told Yle that destroying drones over unpopulated waters minimises risks. “When drone fragments fall into the sea, they won’t cause the same destruction as they would on land,” Iljin said. Enhanced patrols will continue in the eastern Gulf of Finland after the exercise concludes.
Recent drone crashes reveal defence shortcomings
Last Sunday, two Ukrainian combat drones—carrying explosives and likely strayed during strikes on Russian oil depots—crashed in Kouvola and Luumäki. A third was found Tuesday on the ice of Pyhäjärvi lake in Parikkala. Authorities confirmed the drones were part of Ukraine’s ongoing attacks on Russian infrastructure, including a Sunday strike on the Koivisto oil terminal in the Gulf of Finland.
The incidents highlighted critical weaknesses in Finland’s drone defence. Finnish F/A-18 fighters monitored the drones for hours but did not engage to avoid collateral damage. Civilians received no warnings due to the lack of a real-time alert system; a planned mobile app for emergency notifications won’t launch until 2027. Radar equipment has since been redeployed to southeastern Finland, including Kouvola.
New tech and public guidelines introduced
Finnish authorities have accelerated investments in counter-drone technology. Sensofusion, a local drone-surveillance firm, has rolled out systems using radar, radio signal tracking, infrared cameras, and acoustic sensors. The Defence Forces and Ministry of the Interior also issued guidelines for identifying military drones—typically large, grey or black, and unlit—and advised civilians to stay indoors, avoid windows, and report downed drones to emergency services (112) without approaching them.
Enhanced patrols and monitoring will continue in the region after the exercise ends Thursday.