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Lithuania says drone sighting turns out to be flock of birds, after NATO summons jets

  • On Sunday, Lithuanian authorities temporarily closed Vilnius International Airport after detecting a suspected drone sighting. The National Crisis Management Centre confirmed the object was a flock of birds, and the airport reopened within 38 minutes.
  • Radar operators face persistent technical challenges because 'on initial radar readings, marks left by birds and drones can be similar,' the National Crisis Management Centre noted. This ambiguity forces authorities to trigger rapid military responses even when threats remain unverified.
  • A fighter jet was summoned from Siauliai in northern Lithuania, where the Italian air force is currently based as part of the NATO Baltic Air Defence mission. The jet conducted visual identification of the detected object.
  • The temporary closure reflects extreme sensitivity of Baltic airspace monitoring, where rapid military intervention is standard practice. This incident demonstrates the ongoing pressure on regional defenses to maintain immediate capabilities during periods of high alert.
  • As Russia intensifies aggression against Ukraine, NATO Allies remain on high alert, with President Gitanas Nausda emphasizing that such readiness is vital for the region's defense. The incident underscores the Baltics' role as NATO's eastern flank amid ongoing security pressures.
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Once again, a drone enters Baltic Lithuania. This time it is said to have been launched from Belarus. Nato reacts, Poland announces the start of "air operations" in its airspace.

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Digi 24Digi 24
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NATO fighter planes took down a drone over Lithuania, announced on Tuesday the president of this country member of the Atlantic Alliance, Gitanas Nauseda.

·Bucharest, Romania
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Hunting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Otan) dropped a drone on Lithuania, announced on Tuesday the president of this country member of the Atlantic Alliance, Gitanas Nauseda. According to Lithuanian national radio LRT, which cites preliminary data from the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), the drone came from neighboring Belarus and was heading west. It fell in a rural area near Lake Kaunas, in the center of the country.

·Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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NATO fighter jets shot down a drone in Lithuanian airspace on Tuesday night, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauséda said on the X network, thanking the allies for their quick response. The president did not specify which country the drone may have come from or who it belonged to. The drone most likely came from Belarus and was heading west, the LRT station reported. Fighter jets took off in Poland as a precaution due to Russian jet drone attacks i…

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A NATO fighter jet shot down a drone in Lithuania just after midnight last night, the Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center announced.

·Zagreb, Croatia
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Lietuvos Radijas ir Televizija broke the news in Vilnius, Lithuania on Sunday, September 13, 2026.
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