Vilnius Yellow Air Alert Lifted After Object Identified as Weather Balloon
A yellow-level air threat alert issued for Vilnius county on Saturday morning has been lifted after the object that triggered it was identified as a weather balloon that had drifted into Lithuanian airspace from Belarus.
Lithuanian authorities lifted a yellow-level air threat alert for Vilnius county on Saturday morning after determining that the radar contact that triggered it was a weather balloon that had entered Lithuanian airspace from Belarus.
The alert prompted the scrambling of NATO air policing fighters, but it was stood down shortly before 11am, returning the status to white and allowing residents to resume normal activities.
Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas stated that the radar contact initially displayed characteristics consistent with an unmanned aerial vehicle but was later confirmed to be a meteorological balloon. The head of the National Crisis Management Centre, Vilmantas Vitkauskas, said the object's radar signature was similar to a drone, leading to the activation of forces capable of neutralizing it if necessary. Only one object was tracked throughout the incident.
Vitkauskas advised residents to remain vigilant and keep their mobile phones on with sound enabled to receive future alerts promptly. He emphasized that while no immediate threat exists, similar objects may appear again.
Residents in the Vilnius region received mobile notifications urging calm before the all-clear was issued. Lithuania operates a three-tier air threat warning system to guide public response based on the level of danger.
