Warning: Mayo airport 'exposed' to drone attacks - military expert

Irish airports - including Ireland West Airport Knock - could face serious disruption from a wave of escalating drone attacks and are defenceless against the threat.

That's according to a report in the Sunday Independent.

The warning was issued by a military expert as unidentified drones closed five Danish airports last week.

Amid mounting evidence that Vladimir Putin’s shadow fleet is operating around the Irish coast, experts say that the threat of an attack on Irish airspace is growing.

There is concern that Irish airports are vulnerable and could present an easy target for such disruption.

The Department of Defence has said the country 'is increasingly susceptible to threats such as cyber attacks, espionage, subversion of authority and attacks on critical infrastructure'.

The department told the newspaper in response to queries on the potential for Russian drone and cyber activity in Ireland that it is seeking “new forms of engagement” with the EU, UN and Nato to counteract a range of growing threats.

With Russia becoming increasingly aggressive towards Europe, there is growing concern that Ireland could face similar hybrid attacks, both from drone incursions and cyber attacks.

“We’re completely exposed,” former Independent TD Cathal Berry, who was previously a member of the Defence Forces’ elite Ranger Wing, said.

“You can sail within 12 nautical miles of our coast completely legally. And if you want to launch something, we have no primary radar, no air defence and no air-interception capability.

"This has been highlighted for years and no one has done anything about it. I suspect that what happened in Copenhagen is coming soon to an Irish airport.

“This is not unexpected. That is the trajectory we are on. There is great risk of geographic spread of the Ukraine conflict and you have a hybrid, asymmetrical conflict going on across Europe.

“There is a big physical threat of drones being launched from a shadow fleet off our coast.

"This is not a hypothetical situation. By Christmas it is highly likely that the situation is going to be even worse.”