Lithuania confirmed that what was initially thought to be a drone sighting in its airspace on Sunday, leading to the closure of Vilnius airport and the dispatch of a NATO fighter jet, turned out to be a group of birds.
The air alert was swiftly lifted, and the airport resumed operations in just 38 minutes after the NATO jet visually identified the situation, according to Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre.
The Centre explained in a statement that “On initial radar readings, marks left by birds and drones can be similar.”
A jet was scrambled from Siauliai in northern Lithuania, where the Italian air force is currently stationed as part of the NATO Baltic Air Defence mission, as stated by the Centre.
In light of military drones encroaching on the airspace of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, concerns are rising about the spill-over effects of the conflict in Ukraine into the northern borders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with Russia.
The Vilnius marathon, happening in the capital at the time, continued without any interruptions, organizers informed Reuters.
Last August, German authorities reported that an employee at Leipzig/Halle Airport discovered a drone carrying an unknown explosive device in the cargo operations security area.
NATO is on the lookout for airspace threats over eastern Europe as suspicious drone sightings continue to shut down airports. For The National, CBC’s Briar Stewart gets a closer look at the Operation Eastern Sentry mission and what it’s watching for in the skies
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