Lithuania to boost air defences, deploy drone-detection system on Belarus border

Lithuania is stepping up border security after a suspected drone entered its airspace from Belarus for the second time this month.

The Ministry of Defence has announced plans to deploy additional air defence units and introduce an acoustic drone detection system, known as Sky Fortress, along the entire border, Caliber.Az reports per Lithuanian media.

Speaking in Klaipėda, Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė said the armed forces would reinforce surveillance in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior.

“Additional military forces will be assigned to improve border monitoring,” she stated.

Commander of the Armed Forces, General Raimundas Vaikšnoras, confirmed that air defence systems would be moved closer to the Belarusian frontier.

“We are seeing certain patterns and know where these aerial corridors might be. We will strengthen our presence in the region where these incidents have occurred,” he said.

The Sky Fortress system, already used in Ukraine, relies on a network of microphones that detect drones based on their acoustic signatures. It can distinguish between drones, paragliders, balloons, and light aircraft—offering quicker threat assessment and decision-making.

General Vaikšnoras noted that procurement of other detection equipment, such as short-range radar, would be accelerated, although global demand, particularly for Ukraine, may slow delivery.

He cautioned that only visual confirmation can reliably identify aerial objects and warned against any hasty military response during peacetime.

“Shooting indiscriminately could lead to fatal consequences,” he added.

The defence minister said the drone that recently flew over Vilnius has yet to be located or identified.

Military police and special units are searching. Šakalienė suggested the drone may have been unintentionally diverted from Ukraine following a major overnight missile attack, rather than deliberately sent to Lithuania.

On both occasions, Lithuanian citizens spotted the drones and alerted authorities. The latest was reportedly flying at about 200 metres and was last seen near Vilnius.

Earlier this month, a similar drone crossing was initially thought to be a Russian Shahed, but was later identified as a decoy drone named Gerbera, designed to mislead air defence systems. 

By Aghakazim Guliyev