NATO says integrated air defence speeds response to drone incursions

NATO can now respond more quickly, precisely and flexibly after moving from its Baltic air policing mission to integrated air defence, alliance representatives say, LRT reported. The alliance has increased intelligence gathering and deployed more fighter jets.

It has not been disclosed for security reasons whether Italian Air Force contingent commander Col. Stefano Livatino personally shot down a drone over Latvia in August or another near Kaunas several weeks ago. The Italian contingent under his command demonstrated how NATO’s integrated air defence works in practice in the Baltic states, he said.

“The first drone flew north over Latvia, probably in the direction of St Petersburg. Most likely, it came from Ukraine. The second was flying from east to west and was shot down not far from Kaunas. The situation was completely different because it was flying quite close to residential areas, making it harder to ensure safety,” Livatino said.

Italian-piloted Eurofighter Typhoon jets are deployed in Šiauliai. Turkey sent five F-16 fighters to Estonia from August to November, while Spain sent F/A-18 Hornets to Ämari as reinforcements. All are now in Šiauliai, the report said.

NATO air activity in the Baltic Sea region has been particularly high over the past couple of months, especially around Kaliningrad. The alliance wants Russia to see that activity. NATO reconnaissance aircraft, whose operations are not classified, help address gaps in the Baltic states’ air surveillance systems. They can help detect drones earlier, allowing fighters to be scrambled sooner and pilots to receive instructions in advance.

The Kremlin has threatened a response if anything happens to the Kaliningrad exclave, while communications in the region are also being disrupted and jammed in efforts to defend against Ukrainian drone attacks. Lithuanian Armed Forces Defence Staff chief Rear Adm. Giedrius Premeneckas said the jamming may have a greater effect on civilian transport, shipping and aircraft. Military equipment has systems that are less affected, he said, adding that the military has sufficient means to obtain the information it needs.

Representatives of NATO’s Allied Air Command said improved intelligence and faster response times were key changes made in response to drones violating NATO airspace. They rejected criticism of using expensive missiles to shoot down cheap drones. “When there is a threat to the population or infrastructure, sending fighter jets to shoot down a drone is the right decision. But yes, we are also looking for other solutions because we want to be more efficient,” said Allied Air Command Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Guillaume Thomas.

NATO also used fighter jets to shoot down drones after dozens violated Polish airspace last year. Ukraine does the same: its air force chief has been quoted in Ukrainian media as saying Ukrainian pilots have shot down more than 3,000 aerial targets using F-16s, sometimes with the aircraft’s cannon rather than missiles. NATO pilots have not yet taken that approach.