Lithuania is seeking consultations with NATO on changing procedures to allow military aircraft to shoot down objects violating the country’s airspace even when pilots cannot identify them visually, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said Monday.
“I requested that we start consultations with NATO. [...] That will probably be implemented within a month, so that we can review that algorithm,” Sinkevičius told LRT.
The prime minister said fighter pilots can detect objects on radar but may be unable to see them because of cloud cover or poor weather. Under current procedures, pilots cannot use force to shoot down an object if they cannot visually confirm its identity.
Sinkevičius said the rules could be revised to give countries greater discretion in responding to potential airspace violations, allowing Lithuania to decide to shoot down an object detected by radar even without visual confirmation.
The proposal follows an incident Sunday in which a drone entered Lithuanian airspace from Poland. NATO fighter jets were scrambled, but the pilots did not see the object and could not confirm that it was a drone, so they did not shoot it down.
Debris from an explosion was later found in the village of Juodžioniai, in the Pasvalys district of northern Lithuania.
Lithuanian officials said the drone was Ukrainian and carried explosives. Ukraine apologised for the incident, saying the drone may have been diverted by Russia.
LRT English
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