Authorities find foreign drone wreckage in Alūksne forest

Foreign drone wreckage was found in a forest in Liepna parish, Alūksne municipality, on Saturday, LSM reported. The Latvian National Armed Forces said the drone may have entered the country’s airspace on October 18. No one was injured.

The armed forces said they received a report on October 18 of an explosion-like sound in the parish. They analysed air surveillance data and, together with the State Police, searched for the possible crash site. The search was halted after two days because the information initially available was not sufficient to confirm what had happened.

The incident is now under investigation, and an internal review has been launched to assess how it unfolded. The armed forces said no civilian infrastructure was damaged and no further threat had been identified.

The armed forces said several surveillance systems and the wider tactical situation must be assessed to identify possible air threats. Information available at the time was not enough to identify the drone conclusively or confirm a possible threat, so the criteria for issuing a cell-broadcast alert were not met.