Birds, Not Drones, Scramble NATO Jet Over Lithuania
Birds, Not Drones, Scramble NATO Jet Over Lithuania
The News
Lithuania closed Vilnius airport and NATO scrambled a fighter jet on Sunday over a suspected drone in Lithuanian airspace — and the intruder turned out to be a flock of birds.
The country's National Crisis Management Centre said at least one NATO fighter was summoned in response to the possible sighting.
The alert was lifted after 38 minutes, according to The Independent.
Timeline
Traffic at Brussels airport is disrupted for about half an hour after a drone is spotted, Belgian air traffic control operator Skeyes said.
Skeyes discloses the Brussels disruption, nearly a year after a string of similar drone sightings caused major concern in Belgium.
Lithuania closes Vilnius airport and NATO summons at least one fighter jet over a possible drone in Lithuanian airspace, the National Crisis Management Centre said.
The object is identified as a flock of birds and the alert is lifted after 38 minutes.
Reactions
Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre confirmed the airport closure and the NATO response, describing the trigger as a possible drone sighting in the country's airspace.
Sky News and The Independent both reported that the alert ended once the object was identified as birds.
In Belgium, Skeyes said the Friday evening drone sighting at Brussels airport held up traffic for roughly 30 minutes.
What's Next
Vilnius airport operations resumed after the 38-minute alert was lifted.
The episode leaves NATO members on Europe's eastern flank running the same playbook for every unidentified object near civilian airspace — close the airport first, identify it second.
More
The false alarm lands in a Europe already jumpy about drones near airports. Belgium has logged repeated sightings, including the Brussels disruption reported over the weekend, roughly a year after an earlier wave of incidents there.
Poll
Was closing Vilnius airport over the sighting the right call?
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