Riga/Moscow, Aug 14 (EFE).- An Italian fighter jet assigned to NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a drone over northeastern Latvia on Friday after the aircraft entered Latvian airspace, apparently after being diverted from its course by Russian electronic warfare, Latvian authorities said.
The alert was activated at around 4 a.m. local time (1 a.m. GMT), prompting the emergency deployment of two Italian Eurofighter jets. One of them shot down the drone, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart told EFE.
Two Turkish F-16 fighter jets also took off in response to the alert.
The Italian fighter shot down the drone in the Balvi region of northeastern Latvia, where several dozen members of the Latvian National Guard were searching for debris to determine the aircraft’s origin.
According to the Latvian Armed Forces, the drone was diverted from its course by Russian electronic warfare.
