Investigations into dozens of suspicious sightings near airports and military bases in 2025 conclude that reports were often sparked by ‘celestial bodies’ and weather phenomena.

OSLO – Norway’s domestic intelligence agency has concluded that none of the numerous drone sightings reported across the country throughout 2025 were the work of foreign intelligence services, despite heightened public anxiety regarding national security.

The Police Security Service (PST), which is responsible for counter-espionage and counter-terrorism, launched a series of investigations following a surge in reports of suspicious aerial activity near critical infrastructure, including military installations and airports.

However, in an interview with the Norwegian daily VG, Inger Haugland, a director at the PST, confirmed that the investigations had effectively cleared foreign powers of involvement in last year’s sightings.

“We have not uncovered a single case of a drone being controlled by a foreign state,” Haugland said. “Our mandate is about identifying and countering foreign states that threaten national security—and we are as confident as we can be in the reports from the observations in 2025.”

Mistaken identity

The findings suggest that the Norwegian public’s heightened state of vigilance may have led to a “false positive” effect. Throughout 2025, local police forces across almost every region of Norway were flooded with tips from concerned citizens.

While local police conduct the initial groundwork, the PST is brought in to determine if the activity constitutes a clandestine threat from a hostile power. In many instances, the “drones” turned out to be far more mundane.

“There have been various celestial bodies such as stars, weather phenomena, aeroplanes, or helicopters,” Haugland explained. She noted that the difficulty of judging distances in the night sky often led to misidentification, though she stressed that the PST still encouraged the public to remain alert. “It is good that people are vigilant and still report them to the police,” she added.

The shadow of Ukraine

The surge in reports is widely seen as a symptom of the broader security climate in Europe. With the ongoing conflict in Ukraine demonstrating the devastating efficacy of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the modern battlefield, the sight of a flickering light in the sky has taken on a new, more sinister meaning for many Norwegians.

Norway, a key NATO member and a vital supplier of gas to Europe, has been on high alert for potential sabotage or surveillance since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“We see how drones are changing modern warfare,” Haugland said. “It is a tool that foreign intelligence could potentially choose to use in Norway as well. Drones can be used in several ways that are potential threats from a security perspective.”

While 2025 may have been a year of “ghost drones” and misidentified stars, the PST maintains that the threat of foreign interference remains a primary concern for the Nordic nation, even if the latest aerial mysteries have been solved.