Possible Drone Alert Closes Vilnius Airport, NATO Scrambles

On September 13, 2026, an object near Vilnius airspace believed to be a drone. Authorities closed Vilnius Airport and restricted nearby airspace as a precaution. At least one NATO fighter jet scrambled from Šiauliai air base, where the Italian air force is stationed under NATO's Baltic Air Defence mission. The jet made visual contact and identified the object as a flock of birds. Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre said the air alert was lifted after 38 minutes and the airport reopened. It added that on initial radar readings, marks left by birds and drones can be similar. The Vilnius marathon proceeded without disruption. The centre reported 38 minutes; the wire summary described the alert as about an hour. Recent months brought other eastern-flank incidents. A NATO F-18 shot down a drone in Romanian airspace in August 2026 after it crossed from Moldova. Days earlier four NATO jets scrambled over a drone in Latvia that authorities said entered due to Russian electromagnetic warfare. In October 2025 a Russian Su-30 and Il-78 flew over Lithuania for about 18 seconds.