NATO jets shoot down drone: Turkish F-16s also participated
The Latvian military announced that the drone entered the country's airspace as a result of Russia's electronic warfare activities, and that additional air defense units have been deployed to the eastern border.
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Warplanes serving under NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a “foreign drone” that entered Latvian airspace on Friday.
According to a statement from the Latvian military, the drone entered the country's airspace “as a result of Russia’s electronic warfare activities.” It was reported that the aircraft was intercepted over the Balvi region in the east of the country.
The statement noted that additional air defense units have been deployed to the eastern borders and that monitoring of the airspace will continue. The Latvian military warned that similar incidents could recur as long as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine continues.
Latvian authorities also announced that other airspace threats were detected in the municipalities of Augšdaugava, Preili, Rezekne, Balvi, and Aluksne, but that these threats subsequently ended.
DRONE ALARM ON NATO’S EASTERN FLANK
The latest incident occurred at a time of growing concern over Russia-linked security risks on NATO’s eastern flank. Following the full-scale war Moscow launched against Ukraine in February 2022, airspace violations and drone incidents on the alliance’s eastern borders are being monitored more closely.
Similar incidents have also recently come to the fore in Romania. In July, warplanes shot down three drones in three days. The Romanian Prosecutor General’s Office determined that at least one of the intercepted drones was a Shahed-type drone used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Divers from the Romanian military also carried out a controlled destruction of two Gerbera-type drones in the Black Sea on Tuesday, near the Neptun Deep natural gas project. Romanian Defense Minister Radu Miruta said the decision was made for the safety of maritime transport routes and operations around the platform.
In June, a Ukrainian maritime drone exploded at Romania’s Port of Constanta after it was announced that it had gone off course due to Russian electronic warfare interference. Last week, another drone exploded in Bulgaria near a compressor station on the Trans-Balkan natural gas pipeline.
NATO allies met on Wednesday to discuss the increasing drone violations and airspace incidents. The alliance announced that allies had conveyed a message of “full solidarity and support” to the affected countries.
In its statement, NATO described the airspace violations as “dangerous and unacceptable,” asserting that the responsibility lies with Russia. The alliance also emphasized that it is “ready to deter and defend against any form of aggression.”
In the Baltic Air Policing mission, warplanes from allied countries are deployed to the Šiauliai air base in Lithuania and the Ämari air base in Estonia on four-month rotations. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia provide the air command-and-control infrastructure and personnel for the mission.