Expertise
NATO air policingSuwałki corridorMilitary aviationElectronic warfareBaltic defence
Articles (68)
- Incident · 2025-11-24
Seven smuggling balloons recovered across Latgale, Latvia
NBS radar tracked seven to eight Belarusian smuggling balloons crossing into Latgale on the night of 23–24 November 2025 — Latvia's first documented balloon-smuggling event, carrying more than 720,000 cigarettes. - Incident · 2025-11-19
Romania scrambles four jets over Tulcea-Galați — drone disappears
A drone penetrated 8 km into Romanian NATO airspace near Tulcea-Galați on 19 November 2025; two Romanian F-16s and two German Eurofighters were scrambled. Origin uncertain, no wreckage recovered. - Incident · 2025-11-10
Drone crash near Grindu grounds Romanian jets, triggers RO-Alert
A drone crashed near Grindu, Tulcea County on 10 November 2025; weather grounded Romanian F-16s and the jets were not scrambled. RO-Alert issued at 00:07, debris confirmed at the site. - Incident · 2025-09-15
Drone neutralised near Warsaw Belweder presidential palace
A drone was neutralised over the Belweder Palace district in Warsaw at 17:00 UTC on 15 September 2025; a Belarusian woman and a Ukrainian man were detained and charged under the Aviation Act. ABW found no foreign intelligence link. - Incident · 2025-09-13
Drone loiters over Chilia Veche, Romania for 50 minutes
A Russian drone entered Romanian NATO airspace near Chilia Veche on 13 September 2025, loitered for 50 minutes, and returned to Ukraine; four NATO jets were scrambled but the drone was not intercepted. - Incident · 2025-09-09
Stray Polish AIM-120 strikes house in Wyryki-Wola during Russia's drone raid
During Russia's 9–10 September 2025 mass drone incursion into Poland — 19–23 decoy drones, the first NATO shots since the full-scale invasion began — a Polish F-16's AIM-120 AMRAAM suffered a guidance failure and struck a residential building in Wyryki-Wola, Włodawa County. The 150 kg missile did not detonate. It was the first time in the war that a NATO air-defence missile caused structural damage inside a NATO state.
Glossary (20)
- Drone
Shahed-136
Iranian-designed one-way attack drone, mass-produced by Russia as the Geran-2; the loitering munition most frequently detected crossing into EU airspace. - Drone
Gerbera
Russian fixed-wing decoy drone that mimics the Shahed-136 profile to overload Ukrainian air defence, increasingly fitted with warheads for direct strikes. - Drone
Chaika
Ukrainian fixed-wing decoy drone easily mistaken in flight for the larger AN-196 Liutyi; a March 2026 Finland incident required a public correction. - Drone
Loitering munition
Umbrella term for a guided drone built to loiter over or fly toward a target before diving in and detonating; slower and more wind-affected than a missile. - Drone
Magura V5
Ukrainian unmanned strike boat operated by military intelligence against Russia's Black Sea Fleet, credited with over 17 warships sunk or damaged since 2023. - Drone
Hornet
US-built, AI-enabled one-way strike drone used by Ukraine against Russian logistics routes linking Russia to occupied Crimea. Not confirmed in any EU border incident. - Drone
Lancet
Russian tactical loitering munition used against Ukrainian artillery and armour near the front line; not confirmed in EU airspace. - Drone
Orlan-10
Russian reconnaissance and electronic-warfare drone used for artillery spotting inside Ukraine; almost entirely absent from EU airspace incidents. - Drone
DART
Ukrainian glide munition launched from stratospheric balloons, designed to defeat jamming by shutting off navigation before impact. - Drone
Italmas
Russian long-range loitering munition, built by Lancet-maker ZALA Aero, flown in mixed raids alongside Shahed and Gerbera drones since 2023. - Drone
AN-196 Liutyi
Ukraine's long-range strike drone built to answer the Shahed-136; the airframe Chaika is frequently mistaken for in EU airspace incidents. - Drone
Sea Baby
Ukrainian heavy naval strike drone operated by the SBU; struck the Kerch Bridge twice and now carries rocket and machine-gun variants. - Ground robot
GOBLIN
Polish unmanned ground vehicle for reconnaissance and casualty evacuation, tested defending the Suwałki Gap during NATO's Gallant Boar 2026 exercise. - Ground robot
GNOM
Polish ground-launched loitering munition, GOBLIN's smaller sibling, tested for kinetic strikes on armour during 2025 and 2026 NATO exercises. - System
Patria 6x6
Finnish 6x6 armoured personnel carrier and the base platform for NATO's multinational CAVS programme; Lithuania announced plans to procure 936 units in May 2026. - Electronic warfare
GPS spoofing
Technique that broadcasts counterfeit satellite signals to make a receiver report a false position; documented against tankers in the Gulf of Finland. - Electronic warfare
GNSS jamming
Technique that overpowers satellite-navigation frequencies with noise, denying any position fix; persistent over the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad. - Electronic warfare
Datalink override
Suspected technique for hijacking a drone's command or navigation link mid-flight; the Baltic incidents linked to it show broad electronic-warfare diversion, not confirmed link takeover. - Electronic warfare
Tobol
Russian stationary electronic-warfare complex in Kaliningrad, repeatedly identified as a source of GPS jamming across the Baltic and Poland. - System
Baltic Sentry
NATO's ongoing maritime mission to protect Baltic Sea undersea cables and pipelines, launched after suspected sabotage of a Finland-Estonia power link.
Track airspace events as they happen
Sign in with Google·No credit card required