Lithuania reviews air alerts after aircraft fail to identify radar target
Lithuania lifted regional air alerts after a suspicious radar target disappeared and NATO aircraft returned to base without identifying it in poor weather. Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas ordered a review of the warning sequence. Possible debris and reported vehicle damage were also under investigation, while a short interruption at Kaunas Airport delayed two departures.
Geopolitics··Evening
Aircraft return without a visual identification
Lithuania’s military activated fighter aircraft serving NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, after radar detected a suspicious airborne object on Sunday. Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said poor weather prevented the pilots from making visual contact and establishing its identity. The military described the radar track as moving north from the direction of Poland. The target later disappeared from radar and the aircraft returned to their base in Šiauliai, Lithuania.[1], [2]
Red air alerts were issued for Panevėžys and Šiauliai counties in Lithuania, while Kaunas received a yellow warning. The National Crisis Management Centre subsequently lifted alerts nationwide. The authorities’ account left the object’s identity and possible military purpose unresolved. Soldiers were dispatched for a ground inspection in the Biržai district of Lithuania, where the signal had last been detected.[2]
The minister orders a warning-sequence review
Kaunas criticised reports that danger messages had reached only northern residents even though the object had been detected elsewhere in Lithuania. He ordered the military to prepare a detailed chronology of the operation. Fire and rescue authorities were also due to examine whether warnings had been sent promptly. The review concerns how the alert was distributed as authorities followed the radar track.[1]
Under the warning system described by the authorities, a yellow alert signals possible danger and asks residents to locate a safe place. A red alert instructs them to take shelter when an object is in an area or highly likely to enter it shortly. Kaunas said weather had prevented pilots from assessing what the object was and how dangerous it might be.[2]
Possible debris is examined after flights resume
Kaunas said reports of possible drone fragments in Juodžionys, a village in Lithuania’s Pasvalys district, were under investigation. Citing preliminary police information, he said fragments might have damaged a civilian vehicle. Soldiers were working at the site. Following an initial assessment that the object had come from Polish territory, he contacted his Polish counterpart and requested a joint investigation.[1]
Kaunas Airport briefly suspended flights during the air alert, with the interruption lasting less than an hour. Departures for Copenhagen and Bari were affected, according to Lithuania’s airport operator. Both aircraft later departed and normal operations resumed. Investigators were still examining the possible debris and its relationship to the object tracked by radar.[1], [2]
