On the night of September 15, just after midnight, an air threat was declared in parts of Lithuania – in the Vilnius and Kaunas counties. It was later lifted, but it was reported that Italian Air Force fighters, conducting a NATO air policing mission, shot down a drone in the Kaišiadorys district, near the Kruonis HPP.
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Later, “Aro” sappers neutralized the remaining found explosive on site.
Read more here – “Aro” sappers neutralized the explosive at the drone crash site.
You can find all information about this incident and comments after it by clicking here.
On Wednesday, President Gitanas Nausėda informed that it was a “Gerbera” type unmanned aerial vehicle.
Read: Gitanas Nausėda announced which drone was shot down in the Kaišiadorys district.
NATO representatives also responded to the incident. The NATO Combined Air Operations Centre shared a message about it on social networks, revealing some details about the shootdown itself.
“On the night of September 15, two Italian Eurofighter jets, deployed in Šiauliai for the NATO air defense mission, were scrambled and shot down a drone over Lithuanian airspace,” announces the NATO Allied Air Command page on Facebook.
According to reports, the operation was coordinated by the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem, Germany. An investigation is currently ongoing together with Lithuanian institutions.
“NATO has dozens of aircraft and many other air defense capabilities strategically deployed throughout the Alliance. (…)
Together, these capabilities provide a strong, multi-layered shield to help defend the Alliance and its billion citizens,” the post states.
On July 31 this year, a ceremony for the rotation of NATO military air units protecting the airspace of the Baltic states was held at the Lithuanian Armed Forces Air Force Base in Šiauliai.
The rotation was started by the Italian air defense contingent with four Eurofighter Typhoon (EF-2000) fighters. This contingent is one of the elements of the NATO air defense mission, which ensures the defense of the Alliance’s airspace, especially in the Baltic states and the eastern NATO flank.
Italian soldiers took over the duties from the French and Romanian military air contingents that had been protecting the Baltic states’ airspace for the past four months. Italy has been deployed in Šiauliai for the sixth time, and in the Baltic states for the eleventh time. The contingent deployed in Šiauliai this time consists of about 200 Italian soldiers.
