RIGA – August 15, 2026 – NATO fighter jets shot down a foreign drone that entered Latvian airspace overnight, the Latvian military and NATO confirmed.
The incident occurred early Friday morning near the village of Rugāji in northeastern Latvia, close to the Russian border. Air alerts were issued in several eastern municipalities, including Balvi, Rēzekne, Preiļi and Augšdaugava, around 4 a.m. local time. Residents were advised to stay indoors until the threat was cleared.
Two Italian Eurofighter jets from NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission, based in Lithuania, and two Turkish F-16s from Estonia were scrambled. One of the Italian Eurofighters destroyed the drone over a wooded, unpopulated area. No casualties or damage to infrastructure were reported.
Latvian authorities said the unmanned aerial vehicle entered the country’s airspace “as a result of Russian electromagnetic warfare.” Officials have not publicly confirmed the drone’s origin, though similar past incidents have been linked to Ukrainian long-range drones diverted by Russian electronic-warfare systems.
NATO stated that an investigation is ongoing. Latvian officials warned that further incidents remain possible while the war in Ukraine continues and electronic-warfare activity intensifies along the border.
The event is the latest in a series of airspace violations and drone incursions along NATO’s eastern flank, underscoring the spillover risks from the ongoing conflict.
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