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A NATO fighter jet patrolling Baltic airspace shot down a drone over Estonia for the first time during a regional air alert, Estonian officials confirmed.
Hanno Pevkur told local media that the drone was intercepted over Lake Võrtsjärv in southern Estonia. According to him, the UAV was most likely a Ukrainian drone that had gone off course due to electronic jamming systems.
The assessment was separately confirmed by Marko Mihkelson.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal commented on the incident before parliament, saying the successful interception showed that “we are probably still able to handle the situation.”
No civilian casualties or material damage were reported.
Earlier in the day, Estonia and Latvia issued drone alerts across parts of their territories. In Latvia, the warning temporarily disrupted language exams and rail traffic.
Several Baltic and Nordic NATO members have reported drone incursions in recent months amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. Just days earlier, Latvian authorities warned about a possible airspace threat in border regions after an unidentified drone was detected near the Russian frontier.
