Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurinas Kasciunas has called for a change in the algorithm of NATO's air patrol mission in the Baltic states after the recent downing of a Russian military drone in Latvia. LRT writes about this, UNN reports .
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“Air patrols should not only patrol, but also, if possible and necessary, shorten the decision-making chain at the NATO level so that aircraft can take off immediately and destroy drones,” Kasciunas told reporters on Wednesday.
He noted that if the radar detects a potential drone entering the territory of a NATO country, the information should be promptly transmitted to the alliance headquarters.
“NATO HQ assesses the situation to determine if there is sufficient evidence that it is a hostile drone and not another aircraft that has lost its way, and then a decision is quickly made to raise air police aircraft. This algorithm needs to be accelerated,” Kasciunas explained.
When asked about Vilnius's reaction in the event of an aggressor drone violating Lithuanian airspace, the Defense Minister emphasized that it should be a collective decision by NATO.
Latvia's Defense Ministry reported on Sunday that the wreckage of a Russian military drone flying from Belarus was found in the country's eastern region of Rezekne.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Latvian Armed Forces, Leonids Kalniņš, told LETA that the drone entered Latvian airspace early on Saturday morning and was immediately detected. According to preliminary data, the drone had no “hostile purposes” or “specific intentions to fly to Latvia.
NATO's air patrol mission in the Baltic states is being carried out from Lithuania and temporarily from Latvia while the Estonian air base is undergoing repairs.
Lithuania also calls on NATO to strengthen the air defense of the Baltic states by introducing a rotational air defense model.
“Currently, the air patrol mission is designed for somewhat different purposes, namely airspace monitoring and, for example, escorting foreign aircraft that have violated airspace,” Kasciunas added.