Two NATO members have reported that Russian drones have violated their airspace while a third country temporarily closed a major international airport after drones were sighted.
“On Saturday, 7 September, a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed in Rēzekne municipality, Latvia,” a statement by Latvia’s defence ministry reads. “The authorities, including the State Police, are investigating the circumstances of the incident, but preliminary data indicate that it is a military UAV of the Russian Federation, and, according to the information available to the National Armed Forces, it flew into our airspace from Belarus.”
The Latvian National Armed Forces detected the UAV entering Latvian territory, monitored its movement and located the crash site. The investigation is ongoing.
“This situation is a confirmation that we need to continue the work we have started to strengthen Latvia’s eastern border, including the development of air defence capabilities and electronic warfare capabilities to limit the activities of UAVs of different applications,” says Andris Sprūds, Defence Minister of Latvia.
“Latvian airspace is part of NATO airspace,” the Latvian defence ministry statement concludes. “At the NATO Summit in Washington, NATO member states agreed to strengthen air defence on NATO’s eastern flank by introducing a more active rotational air defence model.”
Meanwhile, a press statement from the Romanian National Ministry of Defence issued on 9th September said its radar surveillance system identified and tracked the route of a drone that entered the national airspace and left the national territory towards Ukraine. The drone was also monitored by two Romanian Air Force F-16 aircraft.
The presence of the drone came as Romania reported that Russian forces had resumed a series of drone attacks on civilian targets and port infrastructure in Ukraine, on the morning of September 8th, near the border with Romania.
“The data available at this moment indicated the probability of the existence of an impact zone on the national territory, in an uninhabited area, in the vicinity of Periprava town,” the Romanian defence ministry statement said. “Starting this morning, the Ministry of National Defence forces have been carrying out investigations in the area, with aerial means and ground teams.”
Fellow NATO member Sweden temporarily closed Stockholm Arlanda airport early this morning (9th September) after four drones were spotted in the airspace above the capital’s hub. There is no indication that these drones originated from Russia. Swedish police said they suspected a deliberate attempt at sabotage but gave no other information as the investigation continues.
Image from a 2022 NATO counter-drone exercise (NATO)
