Allied warplanes intercept and destroy unmanned aircraft over Latvia

Confirmation came from Latvia's defence ministry on Friday that NATO fighter jets had taken down a drone that had entered the country's airspace, with a subsequent announcement from the military.

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This incident occurred amidst growing concerns across Europe regarding unauthorised drone activity, with the Russia-Ukraine war now spanning over four years.

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A statement from the ministry on X revealed that NATO fighter jets successfully shot down a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle that had entered Latvia due to Russian electromagnetic warfare.

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The Latvian armed forces then took to X to announce that the threat had been neutralised, with allied fighter jets destroying the unmanned aerial vehicle that had breached the country's airspace.

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Latvia, with a population of approximately 1.9 million and a shared border with Russia to the east, has experienced numerous drone incursions, along with other countries on the alliance's Eastern flank.

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Neighbouring Finland, which also borders the Baltic Sea, imposed temporary aviation and maritime restrictions in the eastern Gulf of Finland on Friday as a precautionary measure, according to its defence forces on X.

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Hours later, Aleksandr Drozdenko, the governor of Russia's northwest Leningrad region, reported that air defences had shot down 54 Ukrainian drones, resulting in a fire at the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga.

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Drozdenko made this announcement on Telegram, detailing the aftermath of the attack.

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Earlier, on Monday, French fighter jets deployed to NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission had shot down a drone in Latvia, marking the first instance of the alliance's rapid-reaction force downing a stray drone over the country.

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German authorities discovered an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig airport last week, while drone-related incidents also disrupted operations at Hanover airport, as officials informed AFP on Tuesday.