NATO shoots down drone over Lithuania as Baltic tensions mount

NATO fighter jets shot down a drone over Lithuania early Tuesday, the latest airborne security incident along the alliance’s increasingly tense northeastern flank.

The drone, which authorities said likely entered Lithuania from neighboring Belarus, was destroyed near the village of Pratkunai in eastern Lithuania by Italian fighter jets that scrambled in response, according to the country’s crisis management center.

“With Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said in a statement following the NATO response.

The interception highlighted the challenge of defending allied airspace against cheap drones and came amid a broader effort to reinforce NATO’s ground and air defenses in the Baltic region.

It also came a day after a Russian warship fired two flares toward a Danish military helicopter conducting surveillance over international waters in the Baltic Sea. One of the flares passed a short distance from the aircraft, according to Denmark’s military.

“It is serious. It indicates that the boundaries regarding risk-taking on the Russian side have shifted,” Danish Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus said after the incident.

Denmark said that the helicopter and its crew were unharmed and that the Russian ambassador would be summoned over the encounter.

The two incidents occurred against the backdrop of a broader Baltic security buildup that includes efforts to develop less expensive defenses against drones.

Lithuania, which borders Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, is at the center of that buildup.

Germany is establishing a permanently based armored brigade of 4,800 troops in Lithuania that is expected to be fully operational in 2027.

But after initially seeking to fill the formation with volunteers, Berlin said this week that it would order several hundred service members to serve in Lithuania because of personnel shortages.

80% of the brigade’s positions have been filled voluntarily, according to the German defense ministry.

The NATO fighter response Tuesday in Lithuania also was another example of how the alliance continues to rely on fighter jets to shoot down drones.

A typical two-fighter NATO interception can cost close to $100,000 before a missile is fired, according to figures cited during a NATO Allied Air Command industry event this summer.

Lithuania and the United States have been experimenting with alternative approaches.

Just a few weeks before Tuesday’s shootdown, U.S. soldiers at Pabrade Training Area in Lithuania practiced using DroneBuster handheld electronic warfare systems to disrupt unmanned aircraft.

During the drills, soldiers used the systems to jam communications links until the drones dropped to the ground. The training also was part of an effort to maintain security at the site, which is frequently used by U.S. rotational forces.

“We make sure that no drones are flying over the base or around the perimeter,” 2nd Lt. Maisa Faasa of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment said in a statement last month. “We deter any drones that do, or we engage them and bring them down.”

Pabrade is 15 miles from Belarus, a close Russian ally.

Meanwhile, Lithuania earlier this year purchased 48 U.S.-made Merops drone interceptors, which are designed to offer a cheaper option for bringing down drones than fighter planes.

But the interceptors work only if they are in the vicinity of encroaching drones, and analysts say they cannot fully replace fighter aircraft, which can respond across wider areas.

The Lithuanian intercept comes a year after 20 Russian drones crossed into Poland during an attack on Ukraine, prompting Polish F-16s and Dutch F-35s to shoot down several of them. It was the first use of force against an aerial threat inside allied airspace in NATO history.

The incident prompted NATO to launch its Eastern Sentry mission to reinforce air defenses along the alliance’s eastern flank.

Russian drone flies deep into Romania before crashing in Moldova

Russian drone flies deep into Romania before crashing in Moldova

NATO fighters scramble after drone enters Estonian airspace

NATO fighters scramble after drone enters Estonian airspace

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