NATO fighter jets scrambled in response to drones in Estonia’s airspace early on Tuesday morning (September 1), the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) said. The threat warning has now ended.

Public warning messages about possible air threats were sent to residents in Lääne-Viru and Ida-Viru counties in eastern Estonia at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday morning, and later expanded to Tartu, Jõgeva, Viljandi, Valga, Võru and Põlva counties.

The messages told residents to “seek shelter if you spot a drone.”

At 5:58 a.m., Taavi Laasik, head of the EDF’s press department, confirmed to ERR that the drone threat warning had been lifted across Estonia. An update on the kriis.ee page said the warning ended at 5.30 a.m.

Possible air threats were issues across several regions of Estonia on September 1, 2026. Source: ERR

NATO jets scrambled

Previous alerts have been issued when Ukrainian attack drones strayed off course, often due to GPS jamming, when attacking Russia’s oil infrastructure on the Baltic coast.

On Tuesday morning, residents in eastern Estonia reported hearing fighter jets overhead.

Col. Uku Arold, head of the EDF’s Strategic Communications Department, told ERR that Turkish Air Force fighter jets stationed at Estonia’s Ämari Air Base as part of NATO’s rotation air defense mission were scrambled in response to the threat.

“There have been drones that moved parallel to Estonia’s eastern border and also Latvia’s eastern border and entered Estonia, which is why we have also sounded the alarm,” Arold said.

An airspace alert was also issued in Latvia’s eastern Alūksne district and the Finnish Defense Forces restricted aviation and shipping in the eastern Gulf of Finland in response to possible drones.

Aerial threat – steps for informed action

The government’s crisis website says residents need to “be alert!” when a potential aerial threat warning is issued.

“There is a possibility that drones or other dangerous aerial devices may end up in the region but there is no direct danger. For instance, a drone that will probably fly over the region and will not pose a direct threat to the population has strayed into or is entering the Estonian airspace,” it says.

More information can be viewed here.

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