Estonia lifts drone threat warning after NATO jets scrambled
Estonian Defense Forces scrambled NATO fighter jets early Tuesday after drones were detected in the country's airspace, but the threat warning was lifted within hours. The alert also extended to Latvia's Alūksne district and Finnish airspace.
Early on Tuesday, September 1, at around 3 a.m., public warning messages about a possible air threat were sent to residents in Estonia's Lääne-Viru and Ida-Viru counties. The alert area was later expanded to include Tartu, Jõgeva, Viljandi, Valga, Võru and Põlva counties, with residents told to seek shelter if they spotted a drone.
Taavi Laasik, head of the Estonian Defense Forces' (EDF) press department, confirmed to ERR that the drone threat warning had been lifted across Estonia by 5:58 a.m. The government's crisis communication website, kriis.ee, stated the warning had ended at 5:30 a.m.
NATO jets respond
Residents in eastern Estonia reported hearing fighter jets overhead during the incident. Col. Uku Arold, head of the EDF's Strategic Communications Department, told ERR that Turkish Air Force jets stationed at Ämari Air Base as part of NATO's rotational air defense mission were scrambled in response.
Arold said the drones moved parallel to Estonia's and Latvia's eastern borders before entering Estonian airspace, prompting the alert. Similar warnings have previously been issued when Ukrainian attack drones strayed off course, often due to GPS jamming, while striking Russian oil infrastructure on the Baltic coast.
An airspace alert was also issued Tuesday morning in Latvia's eastern Alūksne district, while Finland's Defense Forces restricted aviation and shipping in the eastern Gulf of Finland due to possible drone activity.
According to Estonia's crisis communication website, residents should remain alert during such warnings, as drones or other aerial devices may enter a region without necessarily posing a direct danger to the population.
