NATO fighters scramble after drone enters Estonian airspace

NATO fighter jets were scrambled and Estonian air defense units were activated early Tuesday after a drone crossed into the country during a flurry of aerial activity near the Russian border, Estonian officials said.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said Tuesday that public air alerts were activated in parts of Estonia in connection with the incident, which he called “a direct consequence of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.”

“NATO reacted swiftly and exactly as planned,” Tsahkna said, adding that the latest drone incursion in European airspace shows the need to increase pressure on Russia.

Estonian Brig. Gen. Riivo Valge said military officials began tracking roughly 10 drones near the Russia-Estonia border as Ukraine carried out a large-scale drone attack against targets in western Russia.

One drone initially flew from Russia toward the eastern Estonian city of Narva, prompting the military to activate ground-based air defenses and scramble NATO fighter jets from Amari Air Base. 

That drone turned back toward Russia, Valge said on Estonian public television. But about 30 minutes later, another drone crossed the Estonian border in the southeast and remained close to the border area, he said.

“The first thing we did was activate our air defense units on the ground, and immediately after that, fighter jets took off,” Valge told public broadcaster ERR.

Turkish air force fighters stationed at Amari as part of NATO’s air policing mission were scrambled in response. No drones crashed in Estonia and the NATO fighter jets did not fire their weapons, Valge said.

Countries along NATO’s eastern flank have been grappling with numerous drone incursions involving both Russian and Ukrainian systems. Some NATO allies have accused Russia of using electronic warfare tactics to redirect Ukrainian drones into NATO territory.

Drone activity has also emerged as a major concern in central Europe, where unmanned aircraft have repeatedly been spotted in the vicinity of U.S. and NATO bases over the past year.

Last month, a drone fitted with explosives was discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany, prompting Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt to say that the country had reached “a new level of danger.”

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday on German public television that Berlin was finalizing its response to the incident in coordination with European Union and NATO allies. 

Germany is on the verge of naming the suspected culprit, according to the British newspaper The Guardian.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, has said that Moscow was behind the attempted attack in Leipzig. Some media reports have also indicated that U.S. intelligence officials believe the explosives-laden drone likely belonged to Russia.

Moscow has denied responsibility for such incidents.