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NATO air policingSuwałki corridorMilitary aviationElectronic warfareBaltic defence
Articles (68)
- Incident · 2026-02-25
Drone enters Romanian airspace near Sfântu Gheorghe, Tulcea
A Russian Shahed/Geran-type attack drone entered Romanian airspace near Sfântu Gheorghe in the Danube Delta on the evening of 25 February 2026, crossed northern Tulcea County, and exited over Black Sea territorial waters near Sulina without dropping debris on land. Two Romanian F-16s scrambled from Fetești Air Base; no injuries or infrastructure damage were recorded. - Incident · 2026-02-17
Balloons close Vilnius airport for 75 minutes — Finnair cancels services
Vilnius Airport (EYVI) suspended operations for approximately 75 minutes on the evening of 17 February 2026 after the Lithuanian Crisis Management Centre notified the airport of weather balloons posing a risk to aviation from the Belarusian direction. Finnair cancelled its evening services to Vilnius during the restriction window. This was the second documented balloon-related closure of Vilnius Airport in 2026. - Incident · 2026-02-10
Smuggling balloon closes Vilnius airport, 700 passengers diverted
A Belarusian smuggling balloon closed Vilnius airport in early 2026, affecting ~700 passengers; three flights diverted to Riga, two to Kaunas. Exact date uncertain — likely late January 2026. - Incident · 2026-02-07
Record seven balloons land near Druskininkai, Lithuania
Seven balloons were intercepted and two individuals arrested in the Druskininkai area on 6 February 2026 — a daily record for Lithuania in 2026. - Incident · 2026-02-01
Two smuggling balloons land on Šventoji coast, Lithuania
A twin-envelope balloon crossed Lithuania east to west at 1–3 km altitude on 31 January 2026, arriving over Šventoji on the Baltic coast at around 09:00 local time. - Incident · 2026-01-28
Eight smuggling balloons intercepted near Vilnius airport — four arrests
Eight balloons entered Lithuanian airspace near Vilnius Airport at 03:00 UTC on 28 January 2026; four suspects were arrested. AirVeto's 7 km wind log shows ~71 km/h southerly flow from Belarus.
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.
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