Kaunas puts drone-interception missile cost in hundreds of thousands

Lithuania’s defence minister, Robertas Kaunas, said the missile used in an attempt to shoot down a drone costs hundreds of thousands of euros, not millions, LRT reported. NATO air-policing fighters tried twice to bring down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace overnight, but the attempts were unsuccessful.

Kaunas said the fighters responded in time and that newly installed radars helped detect the drone sooner. People were warned using the yellow and red alert system, he said.

The minister said the pilots had visual contact with the drone over Kaunas but delayed the attempt because the area was densely populated and an interception could have consequences on the ground. A later attempt was made, and missile debris was found on the ground and secured, he said.

Earlier in the night, balloons from Belarus led to the closure of Vilnius and then Kaunas airports. Kaunas said they were carrying the same contraband as in previous incidents. He said the economic incentive for the smuggling had fallen because of police and criminal investigators’ work, while Belarus’s regime was not doing enough to stop it.

Kaunas said authorities did not yet have information confirming that the balloons were part of a Belarusian government operation, or that they were connected to the drone. Lithuanian authorities have not recorded balloons carrying drones, he said, though such technology is being developed by US companies and used by Ukrainians.