Riga, Latvia. A French military Rafale fighter jet shot down a drone on Monday after it entered Latvian airspace from Russia, in the latest in a series of security incidents along Europe’s eastern border regions. Latvian authorities said the drone entered from Russia as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare.
Latvia issues air threat warnings
The Latvian army did not say who launched the drone, but said in a post on social media platform X that allied fighter jets had successfully shot down a drone flying into Latvian airspace.
Authorities had earlier on Monday warned people in eastern Latvian regions to seek shelter indoors because of the threat. The alert ended after the drone was shot down, the army said, but another air threat warning was later issued for residents in the east.
Concerns over spillover from Ukraine war
Military drones entering the airspace of countries neighbouring Russia have increased concerns that the war in Ukraine is spilling over into NATO’s northern borders.
Ukraine has in recent months intensified long-range drone attacks on Russia, including in the Baltic Sea area, where several Ukrainian military drones have entered the airspace of Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
Ukraine has blamed those incidents on Russia affecting drone flight paths with electromagnetic warfare.
NATO Baltic Air Police mission
The French military jet that shot down the drone is based at Siauliai airfield in Lithuania as part of the NATO Baltic Air Police mission, which has patrolled the skies of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia since those countries joined NATO in 2004.
The mission also currently includes Romanian F-16 fighters in Siauliai and Portuguese F-16 fighters in Amari, Estonia.
Previous incident over Estonia
Last month, a Romanian military jet on the Baltic Air Police mission shot down a suspected Ukrainian drone over Estonia. It was the first time a jet had fired a missile in defence of the alliance in the Baltics.