A drone aircraft of suspected Russian manufacture repeatedly flew over the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, on Lake Maggiore, causing concern and alarm among security authorities. The episode, which occurred within a week, led to the opening of an investigation by the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office with the hypothesis of espionage.

The JRC of Ispra, one of the most important research infrastructures in Europe, plays a coordination and research role in numerous community networks of national research institutions, universities, advanced industry of the Member States of the European Union, in addition to carrying out a vast set of independent research that makes use of the skills of the best European scientists who work directly in the center or carry out research periods there. Complex studies and experiments are carried out in its laboratories on behalf of the European institutions. The JRC collaborates with extra-European and global institutions and networks in the scientific and regulatory fields. The Center was identified as the target of the drone thanks to an experimental system for detecting unknown aircraft. The facility, which has started a research project on the safety of drones, reported the repeated overflights, thus triggering in-depth checks.

The Milan Public Prosecutor's Office, led by Marcello Viola, has entrusted the investigation to the Carabinieri del Ros. The objective is to clarify the nature and origin of the drone, as well as the possible purposes of the overflights. At the moment the case is open as "model 45", that is, without suspects or specific hypotheses of crime, but it is expected that the investigation may evolve towards the hypothesis of espionage.

Sensitive targets nearby

The Ispra area also hosts other sensitive targets, including the Leonardo plants -a company active in the defense, aerospace and security sectors- and the operational headquarters of a NATO command in Solbiate Olona. In addition, Pavia is home to an applied nuclear energy laboratory. The proximity of these strategic sites increases the authorities' concerns about the possible implications of the episode.

The repeated drone overflights add to a previous case that occurred in 2023, when a boat carrying secret agents of the AISE and the Israeli Mossad sank in Lake Maggiore, causing the death of the agents. The authorities are evaluating any links between the two events.

Security sources stress the "maximum caution" with which the case is being approached, given the complexity of the situation and the need to clarify every aspect. At the moment, I say, it is not possible to exclude any hypothesis.