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2 clusters · 8 sources · 2 days · First seen · Last updated

Airspace security incidents in Lithuania

Overview

On September 17, 2026, Vilnius International Airport was temporarily closed after radar systems detected an object suspected to be a drone. This triggered the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission, resulting in a fighter jet being scrambled from the Šiauliai Air Base to visually identify the target. The Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center later confirmed the radar reflections were caused by a flock of birds, and the airport reopened after 38 minutes.

Two days later, on September 19, a different air threat was declared in the Vilnius and Kaunas counties. An actual drone, which reportedly entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus, was intercepted and neutralized with missile weaponry by Italian allied fighter jets operating from the Šiauliai Aviation Base. Following this interception, local officials noted a surge in downloads for the KOVAS civil defense app and urged citizens to prepare for emergencies in advance.

Entities

Belarus · Lithuania · Vilnius · Italian Air Force · Šiauliai Air Base

Timeline

  1. 2 days ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 2 sources
    Lithuania neutralizes drone from Belarus using allied aircraft

    Lithuanian authorities neutralized a drone from Belarus using Italian allied fighter jets. The incident triggered a surge in downloads for the KOVAS civil defense app in Vilnius.

  2. 4 days ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 6 sources
    Lithuania closes Vilnius airport after NATO jets scramble for suspected drone

    Lithuania temporarily closed Vilnius airport and scrambled NATO fighter jets to investigate a suspected drone, which was later identified as a flock of birds.

Sources

kauno.diena.lt · kurir.rs · lat.sputnikportal.rs · lrytas.lt · oslobodjenje.ba · politika.rs · sputnikportal.rs · wiadomosci.wp.pl