Four military-style drones narrowly missed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s jet in Dublin after breaching a no-fly zone and targeting the plane’s flight path, it has emerged.
The unidentified drones reached the location where Zelenskyy’s plane was expected to be at the exact moment it had been due to pass at sea near Dublin airport.
And they only missed because his plane landed slightly ahead of schedule, just moments before the incident happened at about 11pm on Monday.
The drones then orbited above an Irish Navy vessel that had secretly been deployed in the Irish Sea for the Zelenskyy visit, Irish news outlet the Journal reports.
(Image: Getty Images)
Sources have said that the drones took off from the north-east of Dublin, possibly near Howth, and flew for up to two hours. Irish authorities are now probing whether the drones took off from land or from an undetected ship.
After missing the approach of the Ukrainian leader’s plane, they then turned their attention to the LÉ William Butler Yeats, the Irish naval vessel which was secretly deployed off Dublin ahead of the state visit.
It was spotted by deck look-outs as they lit up against the night sky. The drones operated within the 12 nautical mile limit of Irish-controlled waters. It is not yet known who launched and controlled the drones or where the drones are now.
(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
But it is believed each drone was operated independently of the other, meaning there were at least four pilots involved.
The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) had issued a drone no-fly zone over Dublin and surrounding areas for the duration of the president’s visit.
The drones are believed to have been quadcopters as they were able to hover above the naval vessel. This type of drone has four propellers or rotors which allow it to stay in one position.
(Image: PA)
It was decided not to shoot down the drones and there was no ability onboard the naval vessel to disable them, the Journal reported. An Irish Air Corps aircraft was also said to be patrolling at the time but did not get involved.
Irish forces had limited other options for dealing with the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Handheld equipment purchased by An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force, could not be used to take down the drones as it was out of range.
There was also no air defence capability save for the machine guns of the naval vessel and The LÉ Yeats has no air radar capability.
(Image: Getty Images)
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly was told about the incident in the early hours of Tuesday morning and the Taoiseach and Ministers for Justice and Defence were also told in the hours after it happened. It is not known if Irish authorities briefed the Ukrainian president’s team.
A spokesman for An Garda Siochána said: “In general and without commenting on any particular incident, any such incident occurring on Irish waters is a matter for the Defence Forces.” The Department of Defence said “no comment” when approached by the Journal.
Zelenskyy’s visit to Dublin went off without any major hitches. But his aircraft did use a specialist take off as it left Dublin Airport to limit exposure to any drone incidents.
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