An unidentified drone that entered Latvian airspace was shot down by NATO fighter jets, after several allied fighter aircraft, including Turkish F-16s, were mobilised to intercept the unidentified aircraft, possibly originating from Russia, following a series of similar incidents in recent days.
“NATO is prepared 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to respond to potential threats. We will continue to protect our territory and ensure the safety of our population,” said Alliance spokesperson Allison Hart, confirming the incident, according to the Turkish newspaper Star.
Hart made these comments on social media platform X, specifying that “The Italian Eurofighters deployed in Lithuania and the Turkish F-16s from Estonia were dispatched due to the presence of an UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) over Latvian airspace”.
NATO mobilises fighter jets in response to drone incursions
The spokesperson noted that the previous day, Romanian and Spanish F-16 fighter jets had also been deployed after several unmanned aerial vehicles entered Romanian airspace, near the border with Ukraine. Hart emphasised that NATO is closely monitoring developments.
“NATO is ready 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to respond to potential threats. We will continue to protect our territory and ensure the safety of our population,” she emphasised.
Latvia also confirmed that an unmanned aerial vehicle that had entered its airspace had been shot down by NATO fighter jets and stated that the threat had been successfully neutralised. The Latvian authorities did not immediately provide details regarding the origin of the aircraft.
Three drones shot down in Romania
Between 24 and 26 July alone, three drones were shot down by Romanian F-16 fighter jets after entering the country’s airspace. The Romanian authorities confirmed that the drone shot down on 24 July was a Russian Shahed-type drone, whilst the origin of the other two remained under investigation.
In addition to these repeated drone incidents, on the morning of 30 July, during a Russian missile attack on Ukraine, a Russian Kh-101 missile violated the airspace of Poland – a NATO member state – and fell near the city of Lublin, in the east of the country. The Polish authorities subsequently confirmed that the missile was of Russian manufacture.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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