NATO Jets Scrambled Twice After Suspected Drones Enter Lithuania From Belarus, Closing Vilnius and Kaunas Airports
Why It MattersRepeated drone-driven airspace alerts on NATO's eastern flank expose Baltic airports to sudden closures, a recurring disruption risk for regional business and commercial flight operations.
Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre confirmed on Wednesday that NATO fighter jets were scrambled twice overnight after suspected drone incursions triggered air alerts across large parts of the country. At least one unmanned aircraft entered from Belarus and flew north into Latvia. A first yellow alert was issued in the Vilnius and Utena regions at about 11 pm Tuesday (2000 GMT) and lifted shortly after midnight, according to public broadcaster LRT. A second alert was then declared in the Alytus region, expanded to cover parts of central and northern Lithuania, and upgraded to red, urging residents to seek immediate shelter.
Centre head Vilmantas Vitkauskas told LRT that three drones were initially detected in Belarus during the first incident, but none entered Lithuanian airspace at that time. During the second incident, a drone believed to have crossed from Belarus near the southern town of Druskininkai flew north across several regions and left Lithuanian airspace near Pasvalys. Vitkauskas said NATO fighter jets detected the object but did not shoot it down, possibly because of poor weather or safety concerns. The incursions forced temporary closures at Vilnius and Kaunas airports, affecting three flights and more than 400 passengers at the capital's airport.
Latvia's National Armed Forces issued an airspace threat warning for several municipalities early Wednesday and activated drone interceptors, air defense units and NATO air policing jets. Officials said it remained unclear how many drones were involved and whether any crashed or were shot down.
