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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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NATO scrambled fighter jets after drones entered the airspace of member states Estonia and Latvia early Tuesday morning. The incidents come amid growing concerns about the Ukraine war spilling over into NATO territory, although there was no initial information on where the latest drones came from.
Estonia's Air Force Commander Brigadier General Riivo Valge said that air threat alerts were issued across the country at around 3 a.m. local time on Tuesday when a drone approached the country's airspace near the northern border city of Narva, before it veered toward Russia.
Around half an hour later, another drone crossed into Estonian airspace in the southeast of the country. Turkish Air Force fighter jets stationed at Estonia's Ämari Air Base were scrambled in response to the threat.
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Public warning messages about air threats issued in Lääne-Viru and Ida-Viru counties in eastern Estonia at around 3 a.m. and later expanded to Tartu, Jõgeva, Viljandi, Valga, Võru and Põlva counties. The threat had passed by 5.30 a.m.
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In neighboring Latvia, drones were detected in Latvian airspace in the Ludza and Alūksne regions.
The drones that posed a threat to Latvian airspace also flew into Estonian territory, where fighters from the NATO Baltic Airspace Patrol Mission searched for them, Estonian national broadcaster ERR reported.
When contacted for comment, the Estonian air force referred Newsweek to an interview Valge gave ERR (Estonian Public Broadcasting) in which he said that there were even more drones just beyond the Estonian border.
"Fortunately for us, the drones did not fall in Estonia, the aircraft did not open fire, so we don't have a missile lying around somewhere either," he added. Newsweek has also contacted the Latvian air force for comment.
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Growing Drone Threat for NATO
There have been numerous drone incursions into NATO territory and while there is no evidence that they were deliberately launched by Moscow, Russia has largely been blamed for them**.** They also include Ukrainian drones that allies have said were driven off course through electronic jamming.
But it is not just NATO's Baltic state members that have faced drone threats. Further south, Romania's Defense Ministry figures listed 25 drone incursions as of Tuesday.
On August 20, a drone crashed north of Tulcea county, the Romanian region bordering Ukraine which has been the scene of many drone incursions. It came only days after a NATO F-18 fighter jet operating on an air policing mission shot down a drone that unlawfully entered Romanian airspace, the fourth unmanned craft brought down over the country this year.
The incidents come amid concern that Russia is planning to test the resolve of the alliance and its collective defense Article 5 pledge, according to intelligence reports, cited by U.S. outlets.
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