Overview

• Lithuania’s foreign and defence ministers formally wrote to Secretary General Mark Rutte on August 5 requesting immediate enhancements to its air defence posture and accelerated rotational deployments
• Acting Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys phoned Rutte on August 6 to press for the urgent deployment of anti-drone systems along NATO’s vulnerable eastern flank
• Two Gerbera drones of Russian origin have crossed from Belarus this month, with the second carrying roughly 2 kg of explosives on a flight path over Vilnius before crashing in a military training area
• NATO has placed the request under formal review and says the Supreme Allied Commander Europe may deploy counter-drone and air defence assets while allies boost detection and neutralisation capabilities
• Ongoing investigations into the incursions coincide with similar low-altitude drone violations reported by other eastern NATO members