Conflicting reports emerge over air defense incident in Lithuania

Conflicting reports have emerged regarding an aerial security incident in Lithuania during mid-September 2026. According to early reports from September 13, Lithuanian authorities temporarily closed Vilnius Airport for 38 minutes after radar signals suggested an unauthorized drone entered their airspace. A NATO fighter jet, deployed from the Siauliai base, was scrambled to intercept the object, which authorities later identified as a flock of birds. The Vilnius marathon proceeded without interruption during this period.

Contradicting the initial reports, a subsequent publication on September 15 stated that a NATO aircraft shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle near the village of Pratkunai in southern Lithuania, shortly after midnight. While the origin of the drone remains unknown, officials speculated it may have crossed from Belarus. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda praised the Alliance's swift response, emphasizing the necessity of regional vigilance amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. NATO maintains continuous air patrols over the Baltic states, which have expressed heightened concerns regarding security along their borders with Russia.