Drone threats send fighter jets scrambling across three EU states

Romania, Estonia and Latvia raised air alerts overnight on September 1 over the threat of drones violating their airspace.

In Romania, radar systems detected two aerial targets around 11:30 p.m. local time, 24 kilometres northeast of Vylkove, amid Russian strikes on southern Odesa Region. Two Spanish F-18 fighter jets and a Romanian military helicopter were scrambled to monitor the situation. No airspace violation was detected, and the alert was lifted at 1:05 a.m.

Meanwhile, Estonia reported a separate drone threat along its eastern border and the border with Latvia. The military said several drones were detected in the area, with some entering Estonian airspace. Turkish fighter jets participating in the NATO mission were scrambled to search for the drones. The alert was lifted at around 6:00 a.m.

Latvia, for its part, issued an air alert twice overnight. The first threat was detected in Ludza Municipality, followed by another in Alūksne Municipality, where NATO patrol fighter jets were scrambled. Latvian military officials later said the drone had left the country and headed toward Estonia.

By Jeyhun Aghazada