Overview
- Latvian and NATO authorities said Italian Eurofighter jets on Baltic air-policing duty intercepted and shot down a foreign drone over the Balvi region and lifted an air alert at about 04:50 on Friday.
- Latvia's armed forces reported that the violation followed intense Russian electronic-warfare activity that likely diverted a Ukrainian-launched drone off course into Latvian airspace.
- Recovery and forensic teams are on site at the known wreckage location and officials warned that high-altitude shootdowns can scatter debris over a wide area.
- No major casualties were reported and civilians had been urged to shelter while the alert covered five Latvian regions earlier in the night.
- The incident deepens a pattern of drones crossing or crashing in the Baltics this year, underscores reliance on NATO rotational policing from bases such as Šiauliai, and raises diplomatic and operational questions about managing spillover from the Russia–Ukraine conflict.