Italian fighter jets shoot down unidentified drone over Lithuania

A UK Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon conducts a NATO air policing mission (UK MoD)

MILAN — Two Italian Eurofighter jets, part of NATO’s Baltic Task Force, destroyed an unidentified drone during the night after it violated Lithuanian airspace, marking the second interception of this kind in a month.

A little after midnight, Italian Eurofighter F-2000 fighter jets scrambled from Šiauliai Air Base in northern Lithuania and shot down a hostile drone that had entered the country’s airspace without authorization, according to the Lithuanian Armed Forces.

“The Italian crews intercepted the unmanned aircraft, neutralizing it in compliance with the operational procedures established by the Alliance,” the Italian Ministry of Defense wrote on X.

The incident marks the second time in 30 days that the Italian Air Force has responded to airspace incursions. On August 14, personnel operating under NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission also deployed from Šiauliai and shot down another unidentified drone that had violated Latvian airspace, the Italian MoD said .

Lithuanian authorities didn’t say who was responsible for the incursion, but reportedly suspect the drone entered the country’s airspace from Belarus. The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to Breaking Defense’s questions about whether the unidentified aircraft was armed during the interception at the time of writing.

It remains unclear what specific weapon system the Italian pilots used to down the drone in Lithuania, but it seems the Italian air force, like others, appreciate the need to take out UAVs in a relative cost-effective manner. On Aug . 21, the US State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale worth $364 million to Italy for 5,031 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II guidance systems and related equipment manufactured by BAE Systems.

While no official contract has been announced so far, the kit would offer a cheaper alternative for Italian pilots to neutralize low-cost drones, rather than firing considerably more expensive missiles such as AMRAAM. In May, the UK Ministry of Defense announced that it had integrated the APKWS onto the Eurofighter and was using it in operations in the Middle East against cheap drones.

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In December, the Lithuanian government declared a state of emergency after a notable uptick in balloon and drone intrusions, many of which came from neighbouring Belarus. The BBC, citing unnamed officials, reported that in 2025 alone around 600 balloons linked to smuggling and nearly 200 drones crossed into Vilnius’ airspace.

The newest interception also comes amid a backdrop of a string of suspicious incidents on the ground across Europe, some of which European officials alleged were deliberate provocations by Russia. The Kremlin, in turn, has claimed the accusations are themselves provocations .

英国皇家空军一架台风战斗机正在执行北约空中警戒任务（英国国防部）

米兰——北约波罗的海特遣部队的两架意大利台风战斗机在夜间击落了一架侵犯立陶宛领空的未识别无人机，这是一个月内第二次发生此类拦截事件。

据立陶宛武装部队称，午夜刚过，意大利的欧洲战斗机F-2000从立陶宛北部希奥利艾空军基地紧急起飞，击落了一架未经授权进入该国领空的敌对无人机。

意大利国防部在X上写道：“意大利机组人员拦截了这架无人机，并按照联盟制定的作战程序将其摧毁。”

这是意大利空军在30天内第二次对领空入侵事件做出回应。意大利国防部表示，8月14日，北约波罗的海空中警戒任务的执行人员也从希奥利艾起飞，击落了另一架侵犯拉脱维亚领空的身份不明无人机。

立陶宛当局并未透露入侵者身份，但据报道怀疑无人机是从白俄罗斯进入该国领空的。截至发稿时，立陶宛国防部尚未回复Breaking Defense关于拦截过程中不明飞行物是否携带武器的询问。

目前尚不清楚意大利飞行员在立陶宛击落无人机的具体武器系统，但意大利空军似乎与其他国家一样，都意识到以相对经济有效的方式击落无人机的必要性。8月21日，美国国务院批准了一项价值3.64亿美元的对意大利的对外军售，其中包括由英国航空航天系统公司（BAE Systems）制造的5031套先进精确杀伤武器系统（APKWS）II型制导系统及相关设备。

虽然目前尚未正式宣布签订合同，但该套件将为意大利飞行员提供一种更经济的替代方案，用于拦截低成本无人机，而无需发射价格昂贵的导弹，例如AMRAAM。今年5月，英国国防部宣布已将APKWS系统集成到欧洲战斗机上，并在中东地区用于打击廉价无人机的行动。

为主权、符合北约标准的C3I系统实现战术通信本地化

除了对外销售，拉斐尔的模式还实现了技术转让和本地工程，并为北约合作伙伴提供了一个模板。

去年12月，立陶宛政府宣布进入紧急状态，此前该国境内气球和无人机入侵事件显著增加，其中许多来自邻国白俄罗斯。英国广播公司（BBC）援引匿名官员的话报道称，仅2025年一年，就有约600个与走私有关的气球和近200架无人机闯入维尔纽斯领空。

此次最新截获事件发生之际，欧洲各地也出现了一系列可疑事件，其中一些事件被欧洲官员指控为俄罗斯蓄意挑衅。而克里姆林宫则声称这些指控本身就是挑衅。