French jet shoots down Russian drone over Latvia in NATO mission

A French Rafale fighter on NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission shot down a drone that entered Latvian airspace from Russia, forcing authorities to warn residents in eastern Latvia to shelter indoors while the threat was assessed. Latvia’s army said the drone had crossed in from Russia as a result of Russian electronic warfare, and the French Air and Space Force said it was destroyed over an uninhabited area.

The shootdown marked an escalation threshold for the alliance’s northeastern flank: a patrol jet moved from routine air policing to live engagement over NATO territory. NATO describes Air Policing as a permanent peacetime mission that runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and in the Baltics it has operated continuously since April 2004, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the alliance. A second air-policing presence was added at Ämari Air Base in Estonia in 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea, underscoring how quickly the mission expanded as regional tension deepened.

The French jets that responded were deployed from Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania, the main Baltic Air Policing hub. Two French Rafale fighter jets arrived at Lielvārde Air Base in Latvia on April 14 and took over from the Spanish contingent that had led the mission earlier in 2026. Romania’s F-16 fighters in Lithuania and Portuguese F-16 fighters in Estonia are also part of the current rotation, reflecting how NATO distributes the burden of guarding Baltic airspace.

The June 8 incident came after several months of alarm in the region. Latvia had already reported drone incidents earlier in 2026, including one on May 7 when two drones crashed in Latvian territory and a third exited Latvian airspace. Latvian air-defense authorities also issued warnings on May 17 before later clearing them once the danger passed. On March 27, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania issued a joint statement saying drone incidents fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine showed the need for stronger multi-layered air defense, including drone and counter-drone systems, acoustic sensors and more eastern-flank funding.

The wider pattern has spread beyond Latvia. Drones have also strayed into the airspace of Finland, Lithuania and Estonia, and on the same day as the Latvian shootdown, fragments of another drone were found in Moldova after it entered from Ukraine. Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže and Lithuanian officials thanked France for the rapid response, a sign of how closely the Baltic states are watching each incursion. In a region where even a small drone can force split-second decisions on interception, escalation and public warnings, the episode showed how quickly the war in Ukraine can spill into NATO airspace.