TALLINN, Estonia — NATO fighter jets scrambled overnight after drones entered Estonian airspace during a wider wave of aerial activity near the Russian border, Estonian officials said Tuesday. The public air-threat warning was later lifted. No drone crashed in Estonia, and the jets did not fire.
Brig. Gen. Riivo Valge said forces began tracking about 10 drones near the border as Ukraine struck targets in western Russia. One drone flew toward Narva, then turned back. About 30 minutes later another crossed into southeastern Estonia. “The first thing we did was activate our air defense units on the ground, and immediately after that, fighter jets took off,” Valge told public broadcaster ERR.
Turkish F-16s on NATO air-policing duty at Ämari Air Base were the jets that scrambled. EE-ALARM messages went first to eastern counties, then to the southeast, telling residents to seek shelter if they spotted a drone. The Estonian Defence Forces said the warning ended at 5:30 a.m. local time.
Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna called the incident “a direct consequence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine” and said “NATO reacted swiftly and exactly as planned.” Latvia issued an alert in Alūksne district; Finland restricted aviation and shipping in the eastern Gulf of Finland. Stars and Stripes reported the scramble; Reuters noted Estonian forces linking some of the drones to a Ukrainian strike path against Russia.
Sources: Stars and Stripes; ERR; Reuters.
