Italian jets down drone over Lithuania in first such interception in the country's airspace

NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace overnight, in an incident officials confirmed on Tuesday 15 September, hours after NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte warned that strikes near alliance territory would drive increased support for Ukraine.

The drone came down near the village of Pratkūnai in the Kaišiadorys district, roughly 100km west of the capital, Vilnius, close to the Kaunas Reservoir, Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre said.

Associated Press and Reuters report that it was the first time a drone had been shot down in Lithuanian airspace, the country's military said. Two Italian Eurofighter jets, operating under NATO command as part of the Baltic Air Policing mission, scrambled from Šiauliai Air Base and destroyed the drone shortly after midnight, Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo reported for Breaking Defense.

The Canadian defence and security correspondent said the Lithuanian armed forces and a statement from the Italian defence ministry describing the interception as carried out “in compliance with the operational procedures established by the Alliance”.

Vilmantas Vitkauskas, head of the crisis centre, told Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT – as reported by AP – that the drone had probably entered from Belarus, remained in Lithuanian airspace for about 30 minutes and flew along the outskirts of populated areas before being intercepted.

Lithuanian air force commander Antanas Matutis said the recovered wreckage indicated the drone was likely carrying explosives, NPR and Fox News reported. Authorities said the drone's precise origin and purpose required further investigation.

The incident followed a speech by Rutte at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday 14 September, in which he said strikes “close to NATO territory” reflected Russian President Vladimir Putin's “desperation” and intent to “sow fear and terror”, and that Russia was growing “increasingly reckless”.

Separately on the same day, Denmark's foreign ministry said a Russian frigate had fired two flares at a Danish military helicopter carrying out routine photographic surveillance in waters off Gedser in the Baltic Sea, an incident it called “completely unacceptable” and over which it summoned Russia's ambassador, according to AP and the Korea Times.

The Lithuania interception came a month after Italian Eurofighter jets, also under the Baltic Air Policing mission, shot down a separate drone over eastern Latvia's Balvi Municipality on 14 August, following its entry into Latvian airspace, which the Latvian military attributed to Russian electronic warfare, Reuters and the South China Morning Post reported at the time.

Latvian foreign minister Baiba Braže thanked Italy's air force for the interception in a post on X.

On 16 September, Latvia's defence minister, Raivis Melnis, and his Italian counterpart, Guido Crosetto, presented the pilots involved with the Medal of Honour “For Special Contribution to the Growth of the Defence Sector” during a working visit, Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported.

NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission has patrolled the skies over Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia since the three countries joined the alliance in 2004. Mission aircraft have shot down several drones over the Baltic states this year, including a Ukrainian drone over Estonia on 19 May and another, identified as a Ukrainian “Maya” decoy drone, over Latvia on 8 June, according to Wikipedia's Baltic Air Policing timeline, which cites Latvian and Estonian military statements.