Nato member Lithuania authorises military to shoot down drones violating its airspace

VILNIUS – Lithuania’s Parliament granted the Baltic country’s armed forces powers on Sept 23 to shoot down any unmanned drone violating its airspace following incidents in which it said two Russian drones crashed on its territory.

Lithuania’s army is currently able to target drones only if they are determined to be armed or pose an imminent danger to objects important to the state.

This will change under a law that was passed with the backing of 117 of the 141 members of the Lithuanian Parliament under emergency procedures and will be valid in the Nato and European Union member state from October.

“Now we can quickly react in any way, including the destruction of drones,” said Defence Minister Dovile Sakaliene.

“Our laws and procedures were not adapted to current threats... we can now react at the speed of lightning.”

The new law authorises Lithuania’s chief of defence to close down parts of Lithuanian airspace and to shoot down any drone inside “which violates rules set out by the chief of defence”.

Airspace violations

Nato said on Sept 23 it would use “all necessary military and non-military tools” to defend itself after what it said was “a pattern of increasingly irresponsible behaviour” by Moscow following recent violations of Nato member states’ airspace.

Lithuania asked Nato in August for more air defences after

two military drones crashed into its territory

from Belarus, and Denmark said on Sept 23 that

drones that halted flights

at its main airport on Sept 22 were linked to a series of suspected Russian drone incursions and other disruptions across Europe.

Estonia said on Sept 19 that three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets had

violated its airspace

for 12 minutes before being escorted out by Nato fighter jets.

Poland said

some 20 Russian drones

entered Polish airspace on the night of Sept 9 to 10, prompting Nato jets to shoot some of them down and the alliance to

beef up the defence

of Europe’s eastern flank. REUTERS