Latvia revises drone shoot-down procedure after failed interception
Latvian Defence Minister Raivis Melnis says the decision-making chain has been shortened after a drone that entered the country's airspace last week could not be shot down. Drone interception teams on the ground will now have more authority.
Latvian Defence Minister Raivis Melnis said on Monday, 9 November, that the country has revised its drone interception procedures and shortened the decision-making chain after one drone could not be shot down last week. The aim is to react faster if unmanned aircraft violate Latvian airspace again. The report comes from the Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda, citing the portal Delfi.
What has changed
Interception teams working directly on site, which detect the target and can act independently, will now have broader decision-making powers. The command centre, in turn, will be able to cancel a mission if allied aircraft enter the threat zone and there is a risk to their safety.
Melnis said he personally reviewed the entire decision-making chain with commanders on the eastern border. According to him, some of the additional safeguards introduced by the Latvian military themselves have been removed.
Why the shoot-down failed
The minister acknowledged that the drone was detected and an interceptor drone followed it, but because of a lack of experience and, possibly, features of the procedures in force, the target was not downed. Melnis apologised to residents for what happened.
Until now, Latvia has also relied on allied aviation for interceptions. When an interceptor drone and allied aircraft are in the air at the same time, extra coordination is needed so that an attempt to destroy a drone does not endanger the aircraft. That coordination took time.
State of the system
Additional radar systems have been installed on the eastern border, allowing drones to be spotted earlier. The interception system was deployed at the end of September, as promised, and soldiers are still learning to use it. In practice, its ability to detect drones and launch an interceptor drone has already been tested. Latvian entrepreneurs also worked with the military in the border zone last week to improve the system.
On the evening of 1 November, at 18:59, an orange alert level was declared in the Kraslava and Ludza districts after an unidentified drone violated the country's airspace. Seventeen minutes later the object left Latvian airspace, crossing the Latvian-Russian border.
