Lithuania awaits NATO approval for radar-based drone shoot-downs

Lithuania will wait for NATO approval before allowing fighter pilots to shoot down unidentified objects without visually identifying them, LRT reported, after the State Defence Council discussed following Poland’s example.

President Gitanas Nausėda said Lithuania must prepare not only for drone incidents but also for possible provocations, including incursions across its land borders. He said Russia would not be ready for war with NATO for two years, but warned of possible sabotage and other provocations near the borders.

In mid-September, Italian fighter jets serving in a NATO mission shot down a Russian drone in the Kaišiadorys district. The pilot first saw the drone visually. Former Air Force commander Edvardas Mažeikis, a reserve major general, said visual identification helps prevent mistakes, but can be difficult in poor weather.

Poland has allowed drones to be shot down based on radar data alone. Lithuania has not adopted that approach so far. Defence Minister Robert Kaunas warned that a civilian aircraft, such as a four-seat Cessna, could look very similar to a drone on radar. Lithuania has begun consultations with NATO, which conducts the Baltic air defence mission. Army Commander Raimundas Vaikšnoras said pilots follow NATO’s rules on the use of force.

International aviation rules call on countries to refrain from using force against civilian aircraft and to identify them first, establish radio contact and use visual signals. Vilnius University law lecturer Gabija Grigaitė-Daugirdė said visual identification is not an absolute requirement when intelligence from related sources is used.

Mažeikis said Lithuania’s available equipment might not always be enough to identify a hostile drone accurately. The target should be detected by at least two radars, and preferably three, he said. Short-range radar coverage would make identification easier, while a drone entering an area without those radars would be harder to track. Kaunas said radar screens show a dot rather than a full picture, and that visual confirmation is needed in peacetime.

Mažeikis said permission to shoot down a target using radar data would not mean that option would always be used. He said it was useful to have a range of tools available. Lithuania may also have to pay for other counter-drone equipment itself. It asked Brussels for 500 million euros, and the European Commission proposed a concessional loan through an EU security instrument. Nausėda said Lithuania would consider the offer, while Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said borrowing would increase the national debt despite favourable terms.

As Lithuania seeks funding for counter-drone defences, it is also changing its response procedures. Residents will be warned immediately about suspicious drones approaching from Poland.