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\n Three F-16 Fighting Falcons assigned to the 31st Fighter Wing fly over Venice, Italy, Nov. 21, 2024. NATO fighter jets have scrambled multiple times this month to intercept drones entering allied airspace, including an Italian Eurofighter that shot down a drone over Latvia on Aug. 14 and Romanian F-16s that responded to a drone incursion near the Ukrainian border days earlier. (Frank Crebas\/Courtesy Photo)
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NATO scrambled four fighter jets before dawn Friday and shot down an unidentified drone<\/a> that had crossed into eastern Latvia, according to alliance and Latvian military officials.<\/p>\n Two Italian Eurofighters based at Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania and two Turkish F-16s flying from Amari Air Base in Estonia responded to the incursion, NATO confirmed Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter positive identification, one of the Italian Eurofighters neutralized the potential threat over an unpopulated area,\u201d NATO said in a statement.<\/p>\n Latvia\u2019s defense ministry said the drone was shot down near the village of Rugaji, which is in northeastern Latvia near the Russian border.<\/p>\n The incident prompted Latvian defense forces to warn residents in four municipalities near Rugaji to seek immediate shelter.\u00a0The threat ended about 4:50 a.m., the ministry said.<\/p>\n On Friday, a NATO spokesperson said the drone could not yet be confirmed as either Russian or Ukrainian, but the Latvian military linked<\/a> the incursion to Russian \u201celectromagnetic warfare.\u201d <\/p>\n Italy\u2019s Eurofighters and the Turkish F-16s are part of the current NATO Baltic Air Policing rotation, a peacetime mission to protect the skies of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The three countries share land borders with Russia and don\u2019t have their own fighter jets. <\/p>\n The policing mission has for years focused on identifying Russian aircraft encroaching on Baltic airspace, but drone incursions along the alliance\u2019s eastern flank have increased since Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022. <\/p>\n Both sides are increasingly relying on drones for reconnaissance<\/a> and attacks.<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s drone incident came a day after Romanian F-16s and Spanish F-18s were scrambled in response to incursions into Romanian airspace near the Ukrainian border, said NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart.<\/p>\n In June, a French Rafale fighter jet, flying for the NATO Baltic policing mission, shot down a drone<\/a> that entered Latvia\u2019s airspace from Russia, the Latvian military reported at the time.<\/p>\n