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CRITICAL SKY PATCH ⟩ NATO Tightens Baltic Air Policing After September 7 Russian Shahed Attack Drone Crash in Latvia

Photo: VALDA KALNINA/EPA
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The September 7 Russian attack drone crash in Rezekne, Latvia, has prompted NATO to revise procedures for the Baltic Air Policing Mission.

On September 7, 2024, a Russian Shahed attack drone crash-landed in the Gaigalava municipality of the Rezekne region, Latvia. The drone entered Latvian airspace from Belarus and continued uninterrupted until it ran out of fuel, raising concerns about the readiness of Baltic air defenses to protect civilians from sudden aerial threats.

The Russian drone incident on September 7 has forced Latvia and NATO to reassess their procedures and react to any possible threats in Latvian airspace, the Ministry of Defense told LETA news agency on September 19. Latvian authorities had faced public scrutiny over their handling of the communication surrounding the drone crash.

President Edgars Rinkēvičs called for a review of NATO Air Policing procedures, after German Eurofighter jets based in Lielvarde Air Base near Riga failed to scramble and intercept the Shahed drone before it crash-landed. “NATO must adapt to the new reality — and we must shoot down drones,” Rinkevics said in a recent interview to Bloomberg Television.

Remnants of a Russian Shahed attack drone, which entered Latvian airspace on September 7, and crashed.
Remnants of a Russian Shahed attack drone, which entered Latvian airspace on September 7, and crashed.  Photo: LTV Ziņu dienests

On September 17, German fighter pilots scrambled to identify an unidentified flying object and after surveying the area, concluded that Latvian airspace surveillance radars had detected a flock of birds, so NATO air patrol aircrafts returned to their base in Lielvarde.

Explaining why NATO fighter jets were scrambled on 17 September to identify a flock of birds, but not on September 7, when the Russian Shahed attack drone entered Latvian airspace (the drone had been spotted by Latvian Defense Forces on radar already before it entered the NATO airspace from Belarus), the Ministry of Defense representative said that the September 7 incident had prompted a reassessment of response procedures and an examination of any suspected threats to our airspace, eliminating them as quickly as possible. Following the incident in question, active consultations have taken place both at national level and with NATO's senior military leadership.

In the last month, Russian UAV incidents have occurred not only in Latvia, but also in Romania and Poland. The Latvian Ministry of Defense stressed that this is a clear signal that NATO's Eastern flank "is experiencing a new reality".

Being so close to the enemy, it is necessary to find immediate and collective solutions to strengthen NATO airspace and to promote the Allied presence in Latvia through the active implementation of the NATO air defense rotation model, the Latvian Defense Ministry reiterates.

The Ministry of Defense representative reminded that earlier this month the Defense Ministers of Romania, Poland and Latvia signed a joint letter to the Allies underlining the need to immediately implement NATO's rotational air defense model, as well as to strengthen NATO's deterrence activities, surveillance, reconnaissance and air patrols on the Eastern flank of the Alliance.

The introduction of the NATO rotational air defense model will reduce the challenges of identifying small and low-flying objects, as well as training algorithms, procedures and decision-making, according to the representative of Latvian Ministry of Defense.

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