Two Nuclear Plants Intruded By Drones, Swedish Police Holds National Investigation

Oskarshamn nuclear power plant in Sweden. (Wikimedia Commons/Anchor2009)

JAKARTA - Swedish police are investigating unauthorized drone flights at several nuclear power plants in the country, establishing it as a special event.

Police confirmed drones were seen over the Forsmark and Oskarshamn nuclear power plants. Drones were also reportedly spotted over the Ringshals nuclear power plant and a closed power plant in Barsebäck, but police were unable to confirm that information.

According to police spokeswoman Petra Blomqvist, the first observations of the object flying over Forsmark were made on Friday evening last week, continuing for more than an hour. According to police, there is no indication that the drone has landed inside the nuclear power plant area.

"This is a very serious event. We are investigating a possible connection," Blomqvist explained in a statement, citing Sputnik News Jan. 17.

The police decided to treat the incident as a special national incident, which implies a certain degree of interconnection. Incidents and investigations are handled regionally, but coordinated by the police's national operations department, NOA.

There are currently no suspects in either case, according to police, who are investigating unauthorized access to protected objects, violations of the Civil Aviation Act and illegal depictions of protected objects. The Armed Forces have also been notified of the effort.

Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist stressed on previous occasions that drones have been recorded on various protected objects in connection with military exercises.

"This is something that happens from time to time. We have also changed the law so that this type of drone can be shot down. Now it is up to the police to investigate," Minister Hultqvist told national broadcaster SVT.

However, according to experts, Sweden's preparedness against drone attacks is not enough.

"We haven't really adapted the way we see this kind of event to today's reality. We still consider the world to be at peace or at war. Work has to start before the event starts, not after," said Hans Liwång, professor at the Swedish School of National Defense.

According to unconfirmed information published by the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper, this event is likely related to a drone which is large, has a gasoline engine and propeller like a helicopter and costs around 1 million SEK or about 110,000 US dollars.

Joakim Stenberg, a technician at the Swedish drone-focused company UAS Intelligence, called this 'very unusual', as only one company manufactures them in Sweden. This type of drone can weigh up to 50 kg and have a range of up to 200 kilometers.

Note that the lighter drones do not require a permit from the Swedish Transport Agency as long as they are flown within sight distance, no higher than 120 meters above the ground and do not pass over crowds or protected objects.