| Date | 15 Sep 2026 |
| Tracker | European Airspace Violations |
| Type | Incursion |
| Location |
Pratkūnai, Kaišiadorys district, Lithuania
54.77, 24.20 (approximate) |
Lithuania's National Crisis Management Centre reported that a drone entered Lithuanian airspace from the direction of Belarus shortly after midnight on 15 September 2026, crossing over Lentvaris near Vilnius before turning towards Kaunas. Air-danger alerts were issued for the capital and neighbouring districts and airport movements were briefly restricted. Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons flying NATO Baltic Air Policing from Siauliai Air Base destroyed it over open ground near the village of Pratkunai, in the Kaisiadorys district between Vilnius and Kaunas, where wreckage was located at about 00:20. On 16 September Lithuania's president said the drone had been identified as a Russian-made Gerbera, most likely one launched against Ukraine and pushed off course by Ukrainian electronic countermeasures rather than a deliberate attack on Lithuania, and that specialists were still examining its electronic components. No casualties or damage were reported.
| Date | Type | Incident |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Sep 2026 | Strike | Drone crosses Moldova into Romania and comes down in a Suceava cornfield |
| 14 Sep 2026 | Incursion | Two drones cross Moldovan airspace at Palanca and Cioburciu within the hour |
| 17 Sep 2026 | Incursion | Unidentified drone crosses Moldovan airspace at Tudora for two minutes |
| 18 Sep 2026 | Strike | Drone crashes and explodes near Chisinau at Colonita |
GlobalMilitary.net's 2026 inventory snapshot shows nine NATO members — Iceland, Luxembourg, the three Baltic states, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia and Slovenia — hold no fixed-wing fighters, attack aircraft or bombers and depend on Allied air policing.
GlobalMilitary.net's incident log counts 45 established violations of European airspace between January 1 and August 16, 2026, against 31 for the whole of 2025 - and almost all of the growth sits in incidents that ended with a shootdown or an explosion on the ground.
An Italian Eurofighter on NATO Baltic Air Policing duty destroyed an unidentified drone over eastern Latvia before dawn on 14 August, the second time the alliance's quick-reaction force has shot one down over the country this year.