Lithuania is seeking to revise NATO procedures for shooting down drones without visual confirmation. This move comes after a recent incident where a Ukrainian drone entered Lithuanian airspace.
What happened
A drone from Ukraine entered Lithuanian airspace, prompting NATO fighter jets to be scrambled. However, the pilots did not visually confirm the object and therefore did not shoot it down. Debris from an explosion was later found in a village in northern Lithuania. According to Lithuanian officials, the drone carried explosives, and Ukraine apologized for the incident, stating that the drone may have been diverted by Russia.
Currently, NATO procedures require pilots to visually confirm an object's identity before using force to shoot it down. However, Lithuania's Prime Minister, Mindaugas Sinkevičius, has requested consultations with NATO to change these procedures, allowing military aircraft to shoot down objects detected by radar even without visual confirmation. This proposed change is intended to give countries greater discretion in responding to potential airspace violations.
The Prime Minister stated that fighter pilots can detect objects on radar but may be unable to see them due to cloud cover or poor weather. The revised rules could be implemented within a month, allowing Lithuania to decide to shoot down an object detected by radar even without visual confirmation.
