Lorenzo Maria Pacini
The story of Russian drones flying over Italy has been revealed for what it was: a grotesque fabrication.
It's almost never what it seems
Damn: it was all so well orchestrated that it seemed authentic. But no. The story of Russian drones flying over Italy-and in particular the Joint Research Center (JRC) in Ispra-has been revealed for what it was: a grotesque fabrication, devoid of any real basis. Sergio Barlocchetti had already written about the absurdity of it all, well in advance, in Dronezine Magazine (issue 66). Now comes the official confirmation: the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office has asked the investigating magistrate to close the investigation into serious allegations ranging from political and military espionage to terrorism and subversion.
To tell the truth, we Italians were never particularly impressed by this narrative of Russian 'hybrid attacks', with Moscow invading Europe inch by inch with drones that were never identified or shot down. But then the so-called Drone Zero entered the scene, the progenitor of all drones, naturally sent by Putin directly to Italy. In the spring, according to reconstructions, the powerful security system of the JRC in Ispra - apparently more vigilant than Ursula von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas - intercepted it repeatedly: nine times between March 20 and April 14 and thirteen times between April 16 and May 27. What was the purpose of its presence ? According to the media and television news, the aircraft was spying with ill-concealed eagerness on both the European Union laboratories and Leonardo's helicopter unit, the pride of the national military industry, located nearby.
Some newspapers even went so far as to describe its technical characteristics: Russian production, night-time filming capability, high-precision three-dimensional mapping. Others evoked the specter of "hybrid warfare," Moscow intelligence activities, and even suspicious pro-Russian presences in the Varese area. The situation was so serious that the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office opened a file for espionage, terrorism, and attacks on transport security. Some people even alerted their tattoo artists.
Then, however, reality knocked on the door. Technical checks revealed that the sophisticated anti-drone system suffered from structural limitations: software that could not withstand continuous use, decoding errors, and incorrect classifications. The 'Russian drone' turned out to be a simple phantom signal, generated by a GSM amplifier purchased on Amazon by a local family to improve cell phone reception. There was nothing in the sky above Ispra and Vergagliate, no drone, no Russia, no conspiracy.
Fairy tales that are not even good for children
The narratives about alleged Russian drones flying over Italian skies can be interpreted as part of a broader hybrid communication strategy, fitting into a media and political ecosystem in which the Atlantic Alliance and various European governments use the frame of the Russian threat - including the drone dimension - to strengthen internal consensus and legitimize rearmament and a posture of deterrence towards the East.
The Ispra case is truly emblematic and shows how mainstream media and institutional actors have constructed an emergency narrative of Russian "hybrid warfare" in the absence of solid technical evidence; a narrative that has been amplified by alarmist headlines, talk shows, and social networks, contributing to the consolidation of a negative image of Russia in public opinion, shifting the emotional center of gravity from rational debate to fear.
On a strategic-communicative level, this climate of perception serves three objectives: to promote acceptance of NATO programs to strengthen anti-drone defense and increase military spending; to reduce the legitimacy of positions critical of Atlantic policies, which are easily labeled as "pro-Russian"; consolidating a dichotomous friend/enemy frame in which Moscow is the threatening Other, and NATO-integrated Europe is the defensive and 'rational' subject.
These are fairy tales that are no longer even good enough for children. These Russians who fight wars with washing machines and horses, as Italian newspapers report, but who are capable of sending drones to disturb the naps of the average Italian in upper Lombardy, are not to blame this time. Maybe next time for the next fake news story!