'Shining star in the sky' highlights Denmark's drone anxiety

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Denmark's second-biggest airport, Billund, was briefly shut early on Friday following a report of illegal drone activity that police later identified as "a shining star in the sky," amid heightened concern over drone sightings nationwide.

The country has had a wave of reported sightings this week, with police confirming on Friday that more than 500 possible drones had been spotted within the last 24 hours.

The incidents follow Monday evening's closure of Copenhagen Airport, Scandinavia's largest, due to drones in what Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called "the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date."

Drones were subsequently spotted at Aalborg, Esbjerg and Sonderborg airports and at the Skrydstrup air base, leaving authorities scrambling to address the issue.

Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said Denmark lacked the tools to counter such incursions, noting that the country does not have a ground-based air defence system and suggesting even advanced measures might struggle to tackle the type of drones observed.

Flemming Sandorff, a 60-year-old work environment consultant, expressed concern about the country's preparedness. "I'm worried because we have no defence. We have nothing. We can't do anything. And we can't start running around shooting down drones with shotguns," he said.

The government has faced criticism over its response, particularly as Denmark has pledged to boost military spending this year, including plans to acquire long-range weapons capable of striking targets deep inside Russia.

"Why should we acquire these new weapon systems when we're not even able to defend Danish airspace? There's a sense of growing discrepancy between what is said in government and what's happening in real life," said political analyst Noa Redington.

A poll conducted this week by Danish broadcaster TV2 found that half of Danes are more concerned about the country's security following the drone sightings.

Authorities have urged the public to assist law enforcement by documenting suspected drone activity, advising them to photograph and film incidents without zooming in to preserve context.

Denmark, which currently holds the EU presidency, will host European leaders in Copenhagen next week. Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson offered on Friday to send anti-drone equipment to Denmark ahead of the meeting.

Frederiksen has also come under fire for her absence this week as she travelled to Greenland.

"She's not been very clear in her communication," Redington said. "The major risk for the government is that the consensus around the defence policy will be challenged."

(Reporting by Soren Sirich Jeppesen, Stine Jacobsen, Louise Rasmussen, and Tom Little. Writing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Hugh Lawson)