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The unsettling thought occupying the thoughts of many who have witnessed them overhead is: why?

A Norwegian father felt confident about what he was seeing when an unusual crimson glow showed up between his home and carport on Norway's coastal region one chilly evening in September's final days.

The family man, a salmon fisher and emergency responder, had recently transported his young son home from football practice when they were stopped in their tracks by an aerial phenomenon in the cloudless Scandinavian sky.

"Between the garage and the house I notice a strange light that is not normally there. My son and I see straight away it's an unmanned aircraft," he stated. "We stand for two minutes and watch and we observe the scarlet beacons. I could see it was a very big drone. Roughly 150 centimeters in width."

As someone familiar with unmanned aircraft, he knew perfectly well of the regulations near his home close to a local airfield, a significant installation for the North Atlantic alliance and the Norwegian air force.

Rising Anxieties

It was uncommon to observe an unmanned aircraft moving through nighttime skies. But it was not until the following day, when he read about the drone incursions at airfields in Norway, that he started to think more about it.

His sons were nervous. He sought to provide context. "Currently, we are distant from the fighting that's occurring but I suspect we're being observed and attempting to gauge how we respond to aerial devices," he said.

Rabban says he is not personally afraid yet, but the incidents have already produced some psychological effect on Norwegians. He believes the circumstances in the region could escalate fast. "As more people see the flying devices, increasing numbers wonder what's taking place. They are curious."

Extensive Occurrences

Following multiple unmanned aircraft were destroyed in the skies over Poland last month, sightings of unmanned aerial vehicles have spread across Europe, including those that have shut down important airfields.

The head of government made a national statement following the shutdown of Copenhagen airport. "We are at the beginning of an unconventional conflict against Europe," she said.

An intrusion over Munich airport in the past week forced aviation authorities to halt activities, resulting in the termination of 17 flights and disrupting travel for thousands of air travelers.

Historical Parallels

The violations in the Nordic region possess an informative historical context, stated an academic expert in the department of psychological medicine.

"There's a common saying that the past doesn't exactly replicate, but it demonstrates similarities – and what we are currently seeing over Scandinavia is historical patterns repeating," he said. "Historical records show of UFO scares over this region where the source was suspected to be either the Russian Federation or the previous communist state."

During the 1930s it was "ghost planes" that generated fear, believed to be hostile Soviet aircraft on information gathering flights as a prelude to armed conflict.

"Various observations match familiar celestial bodies like the planet Venus appearing," said the expert. "No airplane of the time could have continued flying for the durations that witnesses reported. Moving ahead to 1946 and Nordic states were showing concern regarding numerous reports of 'mysterious projectiles'."

Psychological Impact

Additionally, there exists a mental health effect that is not fully recognized, stated a research lead specializing in aerial systems and society.

"In my opinion the incursions are a way to spook and to agitate," she noted. "So drones kind of operate in this ambiguous area where they demonstrate their existence, their capabilities, they demonstrate that there are weaknesses, but they don't kind of yet tip into that full-scale aggression that is occurring in Ukraine and Russia."

A different researcher who worked on the research said that since humans employed aviation in conflict, an important result was to "convert tranquil atmospheres into an ongoing security concern."

Present Circumstances

The drone sightings of this period cannot be described imaginary phenomena but they're happening amid an ideal combination of geopolitical tensions driven by eastern expansionism and anxieties over the unpredictability of traditional defense partner the US.

"Suddenly, many European countries including smaller countries are feeling more vulnerable than they've experienced recently," he said.

"Given these circumstances, what we're observing is a shared panic episode where the atmosphere has become a cultural measure of the current era, caused by the fallibility of human perception and concern."

With seasonal changes and daylight hours decrease, which results in extended periods without light which should not be underestimated as it adds to the uncertainty of these events.

"It's probably harmful for people experiencing mental health challenges," noted the researcher.