NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace, the country’s defense ministry confirmed Friday, followed by an announcement from the military.
– The interception came against a backdrop of heightened concern in Europe over unauthorized drone activity, as the Russia-Ukraine war grinds on more than four years.
– NATO “fighter jets have successfully shot down a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle that had entered Latvia as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare,” the ministry wrote on X.
– The threat had ended, the armed forces said in a post on X, adding that allied fighter jets successfully destroyed the unmanned aerial vehicle that entered the NATO member state’s airspace.
– The EU and NATO member state of about 1.9 million inhabitants shares a border with Russia to the east.
– It and other countries along the alliance’s Eastern flank have experienced numerous drone incursions into its territory.
– Baltic Sea neighbor Finland also imposed temporary aviation and maritime restrictions in the eastern Gulf of Finland on Friday, its defense forces said on X.
– It described the move as a precautionary measure aimed at ensuring the safety of bystanders and the operational capabilities of authorities to counter potential drones.
– Hours later, the governor of Russia’s northwest Leningrad region said air defenses had shot down 54 Ukrainian drones.
– “A fire broke out at the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga following the attack,” regional Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said on Telegram.
– On Monday, French fighter jets deployed to NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a drone in Latvia, marking the first time the alliance’s rapid-reaction force has downed a stray drone over the country.
– German authorities last week found an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig airport, while operations at Hanover airport were disrupted after a drone entered restricted airspace, officials told AFP on Tuesday.