NATO allied fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace over the northeastern Balvi region early Friday, Latvia’s armed forces said, prompting a temporary air alert in the country’s eastern regions.
An orange airspace alert was issued shortly before 04:00 local time in the municipalities of Augsdaugava, Preili, Rezekne, Balvi and Aluksne. Residents received mobile phone warnings urging them to take immediate precautions and seek shelter. The alert was lifted about an hour later after the drone was shot down.
Latvia’s armed forces initially did not provide details about the drone’s origin. They described it as a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle that entered Latvian airspace as a result of Russian electronic warfare, suggesting it may have been a Ukrainian drone.
Iveta Bērziņa, a spokeswoman for the Latvian armed forces’ Joint Headquarters, told Latvian Radio that she could not say how close to populated areas the drone was when it was shot down.
The incident also prompted Finland to temporarily restrict air and maritime traffic in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, according to the information provided by Latvian authorities.
It was not immediately clear which NATO fighter jets carried out the interception. NATO allies rotate responsibility for monitoring and protecting the airspace of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The Turkish air force is currently deployed in Estonia, while Italy leads the NATO air defence mission in Lithuania.
Latvia, an EU and NATO member of about 1.9 million people, shares a border with Russia to the east.
Both Russia and Ukraine use drones extensively in the war in Ukraine, and several drones have crossed or approached the airspace of NATO countries in the region during the conflict.
Lithuanian official: NATO drone interception launched from Šiauliai
Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre chief Vilmantas Vitkauskas said Friday that the operation to intercept and destroy the drone over Latvia was carried out by fighter jets scrambled from Šiauliai Air Base in northern Lithuania.
Vitkauskas told LRT TV that the incident appeared similar to a drone episode in May, when Russian electronic warfare systems allegedly diverted a Ukrainian drone into NATO airspace.
“Based on the information we have so far, the object most likely changed course over Russian territory, or crossed the border from Belarus or Russia – that is still being determined,” Vitkauskas said.
“The essence is that this is a very similar episode to the one that occurred in May, when operations were carried out [by Ukraine] against legitimate targets in Russia. Russian electronic warfare systems redirected this object, which then entered NATO territory,” he said.
Vitkauskas said there were no reports of damage so far and that a search operation was underway.
The incident occurred shortly after 04:00, he said. Fighter jets were scrambled from Šiauliai to identify the object and destroyed it several minutes after making contact, according to Vitkauskas.
“We can be pleased that this was a successful air defence operation carried out from Lithuanian territory,” he said.
Vitkauskas said Lithuanian radars had not detected a threat over Lithuania during the night.
“As far as we know, only that one object was detected in Latvia. It changed course and, instead of heading toward a legitimate target in the Leningrad region, was diverted into NATO territory,” he said.
He added that Finland had responded by restricting air and maritime traffic, as it normally does in such situations, while Estonian authorities also tracked the targets and shared information.
Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said the origin of the drone remained to be determined.
“We are gathering information on what kind of object it was and why it was flying here – that information will be clarified once it has been collected,” Kaunas told reporters on Friday.
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