NATO aircraft shoot down foreign UAV in Latvian airspace

Latvia’s National Armed Forces announced that a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle that entered the country’s airspace on Friday, August 14, was shot down at high altitude by NATO air patrol aircraft. The UAV’s origin has not yet been determined, while the air threat alert was lifted at 4:50 a.m. local time.

Scraper SystemAugust 14, 2026, 05:21 PM

NATO aircraft shoot down foreign UAV in Latvian airspace

A foreign unmanned aerial vehicle that entered Latvian airspace was shot down by aircraft assigned to the NATO air patrol mission protecting the Baltic countries. Latvia’s National Armed Forces announced the incident.

The UAV was struck at high altitude near Rugai in the Balvi region. Latvian authorities cordoned off the area where debris might have fallen and began a search of the terrain, assessing that the fragments could have been scattered across a wide area.

Alert issued in four regions

After the UAV was spotted, an air threat alert was issued in the Augšdaugava, Preiļi, Rēzekne and Balvi regions. Residents were urged to remain indoors and not approach low-flying or suspicious objects.

Iveta Berzina, a representative of Latvia’s National Armed Forces, explained that the alert covered several regions because the aircraft was moving toward Latvian territory and could have changed its flight path.

Alert lifted at 4:50 a.m.

The Latvian army announced that the threat had been eliminated and canceled the air threat alert at 4:50 a.m. local time.

Authorities announced that it had not yet been determined which country or actor the downed unmanned aerial vehicle belonged to. People were asked not to approach possible fragments and to report such findings to the 112 Emergency Call Center; further information about the incident would be shared later.