Lithuania’s Defense Minister, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, has called on NATO to step up its air patrol mission in the Baltic region after a Russian military drone crashed in Latvia.
He stressed the need for quicker decision-making within NATO to respond faster to potential drone threats.
Faster Action Needed
Kasčiūnas said NATO should not only patrol the airspace but also be ready to act quickly if a drone is detected.
"The air policing must not only patrol but also, if necessary, shorten the decision-making chain so that jets can take off immediately and destroy drones," he said, as reported by LRT.
He added that radar data should be sent straight to NATO headquarters to speed up decisions on whether the drone is a threat.
Currently, NATO assesses each situation before deploying jets to intercept drones. Kasčiūnas believes this process should be faster, especially with Russian drones regularly entering the airspace of NATO countries near Ukraine.
Russian "Shahed" drones have frequently crossed into NATO airspace in Eastern Europe. On September 8, two Russian drones entered Romanian airspace during an attack on Ukraine.
Kasčiūnas stressed that decisions to shoot down drones should be made together with NATO allies.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also called for neighboring NATO countries to work together to intercept Russian missiles and drones.
