Turkey sent 11 drones into Greek national airspace over the Aegean on October 25, 2026, committing 18 separate violation...

Turkey sent 11 drones into Greek national airspace over the Aegean on October 25, 2026, committing 18 separate violations of Greek sovereign airspace and 13 additional infringements of air traffic rules in the Athens Flight Information Region, according to the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. The drones operated across the northeastern, central, and southeastern Aegean, covering a wide stretch of the sea in what Greek defense officials logged as standard UAV provocation activity. All 11 aircraft were identified and intercepted in accordance with international rules, with no armed aircraft or aerial engagements involved. The scale of the incident, 31 total violations and infringements recorded in a single day, puts it among the more significant UAV provocation events Greece has documented this year. Turkey has maintained a persistent drone presence in the Athens FIR throughout 2026, using UAVs to probe Greek radar response times, conduct surveillance of island defensive positions, and send political signals without triggering a direct armed confrontation. Greece's air defense posture has adapted accordingly. Athens has been developing a layered anti-drone system designed to detect and track UAVs without relying solely on F-16 scrambles, which carry a significant fuel and operational cost each time a Greek fighter is dispatched to intercept an unmanned aircraft. The October 25 operation stands out for the number of individual drone sorties involved. Six UAVs producing 9 violations was already considered a notable day in a recent reporting period. Eleven drones in one day, spread across three distinct Aegean zones, signals a deliberate widening of Turkey's surveillance footprint. #Greece #Turkey #Aegean