On the night of 14–15 September, at 12:20 a.m. local time, a pair of Italian Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon multirole fighters on quick reaction alert took off from the Lithuanian Air Force’s 1st Air Base in Šiauliai as part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission to intercept an unmanned aerial vehicle that had entered Alliance airspace, likely from Belarus. It was the first such drone shootdown over Lithuania.
Italian Typhoon / Photo: Cpl. Joanna Wlazło, 22nd Tactical Air Base
The drone violated Lithuanian airspace, likely approaching from Belarus. It flew westward through the Vilnius, Trakai and Lentvaris areas, and then toward Kaunas County. It was destroyed in the air over rural terrain in Kaišiadorys District, near the village of Pratkūnai, not far from the Kruonis Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Plant and the Kaunas Reservoir.
The drone remained over Lithuania for about half an hour. A yellow alert warning of a possible aerial threat was issued, including for Vilnius, Vilnius District, Trakai, Elektrėnai and Kaunas County, and was later lifted.
There were no reports of casualties or damage among the local population. The wreckage is being examined by the authorities, including military police and civilian police, while the Shield plan (Lithuanian: Skydas) was activated at the crash site. The head of the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) said there was a high probability that the drone may have carried an explosive payload, although it has not yet been confirmed whether it was a combat drone.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda thanked the Allies for their swift response and stressed that readiness is crucial in the face of the escalation of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said the incident sent a clear signal that NATO remains vigilant and ready. Presidential security adviser Deividas Matulionis assessed that it was probably a Russian or Ukrainian drone that had strayed off course, although this could not yet be determined conclusively.
This was the first such case of a drone being shot down directly over Lithuania. In recent months, air alerts linked to possible drones have been issued several times in Lithuania, including cases in which objects were later identified as birds or stray drones. The origin and exact type of this particular drone are still being determined from the wreckage.
It was the second violation of Lithuanian airspace within 24 hours. On 13 September at 4:05 a.m. local time, Lithuanian Air Force radars detected an object in the Varėna area moving toward the Kaliningrad Region. At 4:25 a.m., it left Lithuanian airspace and crossed the border into Russia. The unidentified drone had arrived from Belarus and remained in the airspace of the NATO member state for about 20 minutes. Interestingly, the following day, what was probably a Russian Gerbera-2 drone was recovered in Poland near the beach at Rusinowo, close to Jarosławiec.
Also on 13 September, at around 1:00 p.m., radars detected another unidentified object, which was initially assessed as another drone. A yellow alert warning of a possible aerial threat was issued for Vilnius, Vilnius District, Trakai and Elektrėnai. Vilnius Airport was temporarily closed, with operations suspended for about 40 minutes. A Typhoon was scrambled for visual identification.
It is also worth recalling that only a month earlier, on 14 August, an Italian Typhoon operating from the 1st Air Base shot down an unidentified drone over Latvia after it violated the country’s airspace from the direction of Russia. In recent months, Allied aircraft have also repeatedly shot down drones over Romania and Estonia. There have also been incidents in which such objects crashed on the territory of those countries, as well as Finland. The drones were of Russian or Ukrainian origin.
A drone that just entered Lithuanian airspace was destroyed by NATO fighter jets. I thank Allied personnel for their swift response.
With Russia intensifying its aggression against Ukraine, such readiness is vital for our region. Together with our NATO Allies, Lithuania will…
— Gitanas Nausėda (@GitanasNauseda) September 14, 2026
A drone was successfully neutralised over Lithuanian territory.
The Lithuanian Armed Forces and the Italian pilots serving in the NATO Air Defence Mission showed a swift and responsible response. Thank you!
— Lithuanian MOD 🇱🇹 (@Lithuanian_MoD) September 14, 2026
NATO air defence responded—the threat was neutralised. At around 00:20, Italian fighter jets scrambled from Šiauliai and shot down an identified drone in Lithuanian airspace. Debris was found and the site secured. Thank you, Allies! 🇱🇹🇮🇹 #WeAreNATO
— Lithuanian_Armed_Forces (@LTU_ArmedForces) September 15, 2026
Nella tarda serata di ieri, due caccia Eurofighter F-2000 della Task Force Air “Baltic Thunder III” dell’#AeronauticaMilitare sono decollati in modalità #scramble nell’ambito della missione #NATO di difesa aerea sul fianco orientale dell’Alleanza, in seguito alla violazione dello… pic.twitter.com/C2UOIvTQET
— Ministero Difesa (@MinisteroDifesa) September 15, 2026
Last night, two Italian 🇮🇹 Eurofighters deployed on NATO Air Defence mission at Šiauliai 🇱🇹, scrambled and shot down a drone over Lithuanian airspace.
The operation was coordinated through NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem, Germany.
Investigations are ongoing… pic.twitter.com/BFrWbxOjqJ
— NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) September 15, 2026
