Counter-drone radar at the Storebælt Bridge: Sund & Bælt installs radar masts

For counter-drone protection at the Storebælt Bridge (Great Belt Bridge), Sund & Bælt, the state-owned operator of the infrastructure, is relying on radar: radar masts on and around the structure are to cover the airspace over the Great Belt without gaps. According to a company statement of 6 November, the system is designed to detect and identify drones quickly. Operations are scheduled to begin by the end of 2026. The masts are being installed in autumn 2026, and bridge traffic is not affected.

Since spring 2026, drones have been completely banned around the bridge; radar surveillance is intended to enforce this ban. In the press release, CEO Mikkel Hemmingsen explained: “As the owner of the infrastructure, Sund & Bælt is responsible for monitoring and protecting our facilities, and the Storebælt Bridge is critical infrastructure for Denmark”. He described the radar as a new tool; together with the authorities, the company is continuously examining further measures.

Sund & Bælt has been working on the system for about a year, in close coordination with Denmark’s National Police and the armed forces. The procedure is firmly agreed and responsibilities are clearly assigned: the police receive a situational picture as the basis for assessment and intervention. According to the company, the solution can also be transferred to other infrastructure. Sund & Bælt’s own drones will continue to fly for operation and maintenance.

Wave of drone sightings over Denmark as the backdrop

The statement makes no mention of specific incidents at the bridge. No public evidence of drone incidents at the structure itself was found either. The backdrop is the wave of drone sightings Denmark experienced in September 2025: on 22 September, Copenhagen Airport was shut down for almost four hours by two to three large drones. According to police reports, drones were flying over the airports of Aalborg, Esbjerg, Sønderborg and Skrydstrup during the night before 25 September. On 27 September, drones were sighted at military installations, including Karup Air Base. According to media reports, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen spoke of the “most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure so far”. The perpetrators have not yet been named.

Zealand and Funen are connected by the 18-kilometre Storebælt link. It opened to rail traffic in 1997 and to road traffic in 1998. The East Bridge, a suspension bridge, is 6,790 metres long, its main span measures 1,624 metres and its pylons rise 254 metres. The West Bridge, which carries both road and rail, measures 6,611 metres. Construction cost around 3.55 billion euros. 2025 brought a record of 14.15 million vehicles, and in 2026 a car crossing costs around 31.50 euros in tolls.

Counter-drone in Austria: whole-of-government strategy in the works

In Austria, drone defence has become a central task of security policy. By circular resolution, the federal government decided on 31 October 2025 to develop a national counter-drone strategy. It followed drone incidents over European airports and the war in Ukraine. Already in place are the detection system at Vienna-Schwechat Airport, the counter-drone centre of the Directorate for Special Units in the Ministry of the Interior and military defence measures of the Austrian Armed Forces (Bundesheer). The interior, defence and infrastructure ministries coordinate through a joint drone situation centre.

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner and State Secretary Jörg Leichtfried presented an interim report in September 2026. At its centre is an amendment to the Telecommunications Act: with a licence, critical infrastructure operators are in future to be allowed to detect and jam threatening drones themselves and, in an emergency, shoot them down. A new espionage law is to criminalise so-called disposable agents. The Cobra counter-drone unit was deployed 53 times in 2023 and 80 times so far this year.

Criticism remains. As a parliamentary question shows, the Ministry of Infrastructure has no data on unauthorised drone flights over critical infrastructure. Since the EU regulation entered into force, 14 administrative offences have been reported. The final report is due by the end of 2026.