Latvian military deploys interceptor drone after unidentified drone violates its airspace

The Latvian Armed Forces have deployed a drone interceptor after an unidentified unmanned aerial vehicle breached Latvian airspace on the evening of 1 November.

Source: European Pravda, citing Latvian media outlet LSM

Details: An orange alert was declared in the Krāslava and Ludza districts of Latvia after an unidentified drone violated the nation's airspace at 18:59 on Sunday.

Seventeen minutes later, the flying object exited Latvian airspace, crossing back over the Latvian-Russian border.

The Latvian military reacted to the detected threat to its airspace by launching a Blaze interceptor drone. At 19:19, the decision was taken to activate the interceptor's self-destruct mechanism to prevent any potential risk of violating the state border with Russia.

The threat level for the two eastern districts was lifted at 19:30.

"We are continuing to monitor our airspace and carry out our duties so that citizens can feel safe, and we are ready to respond again, should the need arise" stated Latvian Minister for Defence Raivis Melnis.

Background:

• On 24 October, the National Armed Forces of Latvia reported finding the wreckage of a crashed drone on the country's territory.
• On 18 October, in the village of Juodžionys in Lithuania's Pasvalys district, debris was discovered from what is believed to be a drone that had violated the country's airspace. Lithuania claims that the drone entered its airspace from the territory of Poland.
• Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius stated that the drone that had entered Lithuania contained explosives.
• Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, stated that the drone incident in Lithuania was likely a consequence of Russian electronic warfare measures. He expressed Ukraine's regret over the incident.

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