Russia likely deployed drones from sanctioned oil tankers loitering in international waters, disrupting civilian aviation across 13 European states between August 2024 and February 2026. The IISS dataset of 144 intrusion incidents links these UAVs to Russia’s shadow fleet, which served as covert maritime launch platforms to surveil nuclear weapons sites in Britain and test NATO air defense gaps. Operators faced repeated flight disruptions as drones exploited numerous vulnerabilities in civilian aviation safety protocols and military logistics monitoring. The campaign’s enabling mechanism persists as long as these vessels remain unimpeded in international waters, demanding immediate sector-wide countermeasures to close air defense gaps and protect high-value strategic assets from reconnaissance threats.