Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, in an interview with the publication Delfi, confirmed that the unmanned aerial vehicle that violated the country's airspace on the night of September 15 and was shot down by NATO fighter jets was a Russian "Gerbera"-type drone. According to the head of state, experts are currently analyzing the electronic components of the downed device, and preliminary assessments suggest that it will be possible to recover some data on exactly where the drone came from, what its trajectory was, and under what circumstances it ended up over Lithuanian territory.
The Ukrainian EW Redirection Theory
Nausėda put forward a working hypothesis: most likely, this Russian drone was originally intended to strike targets on Ukrainian territory. However, in the president's view, it was neutralized by the electronic warfare systems of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which led to a loss of targeting and a change in trajectory. As a result, the device drifted and entered Lithuanian airspace, where it was intercepted and destroyed by NATO fighter jets. The president emphasized that final conclusions will be drawn after the technical examination of the drone's electronic block is completed.
Warning About a Rising Number of Incidents
Gitanas Nausėda did not rule out that there may be more such incidents in the future. "The most important thing is that we are able to detect them in a timely manner, preferably still over the territory of neighboring countries, so that we can respond faster, because we really have very little time to prepare," the president stated. He called for seeking alternative ways to neutralize drones, not limiting efforts exclusively to missile air defense systems. "There is a whole range of air defense means, short-range drone interceptors, and these should be alternative options," he clarified.
Strengthening Integrated Air Defense and the 'Bird Incident'
The President of Lithuania emphasized that the country is actively strengthening its integrated air defense system, but acknowledged that there are still malfunctions in its operation. "Yes, incidents still happen, sometimes causing anger, sometimes a smile, like that unfortunate incident with the birds. We want the risk to people's lives to be minimized as much as possible," Nausėda noted. This refers to the events of September 13, when in Lithuania the Vilnius airport was closed and a NATO fighter jet was scrambled due to a suspicious object in the air, only for it to turn out that the cause of the alarm was a flock of birds.
Timeline of the September 15 Incident
On the night of September 15, a yellow-level air threat was declared in Lithuania. The drone violated the country's airspace, after which NATO fighter jets on duty under the collective defense system intercepted and destroyed it. No casualties or damage on the ground were recorded. The incident became one of the first confirmed cases of a Russian UAV penetrating the airspace of a NATO member state, which automatically activates the mechanisms of Articles 4 and 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty in terms of consultations and collective response.
