- WIADOMOŚCI
Baltic security: NATO jet intercepts drone over Latvia
The Latvian armed forces reported that NATO fighter jets shot down a drone over the eastern part of the country. This marks the first instance of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) being shot down by allied forces over Latvia.
The UAV was shot down by a French fighter jet participating in the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission. According to Reuters, the aircraft took off from a base in Lithuania. An alert regarding a potential aerial threat was issued in eastern Latvia, with authorities urging residents to stay indoors and follow instructions from emergency services.
Residents in this part of the country regularly receive warnings regarding drones entering Latvian airspace. This was not the first shoot-down of a drone over the territory of a NATO member state; on May 19, a system was shot down by a NATO fighter over Estonia.
The countries in the region do not yet possess their own fighter jets. Their airspace is protected by aircraft under the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission. Due to recurring drone incidents, Latvian authorities have decided to deploy additional units to the eastern border to improve the detection of potential threats.
The Baltic Air Policing operation has been conducted since 2004 and involves the patrolling of Baltic state airspace by Alliance members. Currently, it serves as one of the key elements ensuring security on the eastern flank. Previous incidents in the region were caused by Ukrainian drones. Ukraine carries out attacks on Russian targets located, among other places, in the Baltic Sea region. Russian defences often cause drones to veer off their intended course and crash in other countries in the region.
