NATO air-policing jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace overnight on 15 September. LRT said wreckage was found near Pratkūnai in the Kaišiadorys district, about 60 miles west of Vilnius. Italian crews at Šiauliai flew Eurofighters. The BBC said the incident came shortly after midnight near Kaunas and that the drone may have entered from Belarus. LRT called it the first shoot-down over Lithuanian territory.
LRT published a BNS report at 07:43 on 15 September saying NATO air-policing jets shot down a drone overnight. The national crisis centre placed the wreckage near Pratkūnai village in the Kaišiadorys district, by the Kaunas Reservoir, about 60 miles west of Vilnius. Centre head Vilmantas Vitkauskas told LRT Radio the drone most likely entered from Belarus, stayed about half an hour, and flew along the outskirts of populated areas.[2]
LRT said Italian troops at Šiauliai used Eurofighters. Air-threat warnings went to Vilnius, Trakai, Elektrėnai and later Kaunas, then were cancelled. LRT called it the first shoot-down over Lithuanian territory. The Defence Ministry, in the BBC report, said the armed forces and Italian pilots on the NATO Air Defence Mission gave a swift response. The type of drone and its intended target were still being examined.[2], [1]
The BBC reported that the incident took place shortly after midnight on Tuesday in southern Lithuania, near Kaunas, the country's second-largest city. President Gitanas Nausėda said NATO fighter jets destroyed the drone. A crisis-centre spokesperson said it may have entered from neighbouring Belarus and that its origin has not yet been established. Drone alerts sounded in Vilnius and the surrounding region. Authorities were still determining the type of drone and its intended target.[1]
