Aggressive bird formations prompt NATO air defense to respond.
At midday, the Latvian military alerts about an unknown aerial phenomenon. NATO aircraft are dispatched, but fail to spot anything. Later, it's revealed: It was likely a birds' migration crossing the boundary from Belarus.
According to Leta, the nation's news agency, and as declared by the air force, an unidentified object had approached Latvia's border from Belarus in eastern Kraslava on Tuesday. After initial concern, it was discovered that the mysterious object was nothing more than a group of migrating birds.
Prior to this discovery, the Defense Ministry in Riga had reported the appearance of an unknown flying object. In response, NATO jets positioned at the airbase in Lielvarde were promptly scrambled to monitor the situation. Regrettably, they were unable to find anything out of the ordinary.
As fellow EU and NATO member states, both Estonia and Lithuania lack their own fighter jets. Consequently, NATO allies have assumed obligation for safeguarding the Baltic airspace on rotation since 2004. At present, the onus falls upon the German Armed Forces, who have stationed Eurofighters in Lielvarde specifically for this purpose.
Another Event in Short Succession
The decision to activate the NATO jets stems from the initial ambiguity surrounding the nature of the unknown flying object. Defense Minister Andris Spruds confirmed this during a press conference following a government meeting. He emphasized that Latvia, located at the border with Russia, remains vulnerable to hybrid warfare threats.
Earlier, on September 7, a suspected Russian drone had flown from Belarus towards Latvia and crashed near Gaigalava, near Rezekne – roughly 90 kilometers from the frontier. The device contained an explosive device that was later rendered harmless after its discovery.
The Defense Ministry in Riga stated that the following unidentified object had approached Latvia's border. Despite the dispatch of NATO jets, they were unable to locate anything out of the ordinary.
