At noon of May 19, 2026 an unmanned aerial system entered Estonian airspace from Russian airspace in the South-Eastern corner of Estonia, heading towards North-East. The unmanned aerial system was likely of Ukrainian origin.
Romanian Air Force fighter jets F-16, based in Lithuania, were conducting a routine training flight under the Baltic Air Policing mission, and intercepted the drone South of Põltsamaa town. The jets fired a single missile to neutralize the threat, downing the unmanned aerial system at 12.14PM local time.
The incident occurred under the conditions of heavy electronic warfare, including GPS spoofing and jamming, by Russia.
Prior to neutralization, the object approaching Estonian airspace was under constant monitoring by air surveillance units, and the target was visually identified before the engagement. The latter is vital as civilian safety and potential impact on the population is prioritized when engaging targets in peace time conditions.
Operation was led by the Latvian Control and Reporting Center (CRC).
Estonian Internal Security Service as initiated a criminal investigation, under the paragraph of an attack against air traffic safety.
