Lithuanian border officials failed to apprehend a drone's infiltration from Belarus, as revealed by their chief.
The State Border Guard Service (SBGS) of Lithuania has been at the forefront of responding to the recent incident involving an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that entered Lithuanian airspace.
The first report of the UAV's presence was received by the Lithuanian Police at 5.55 a.m. on Monday, near Medininkai in the Vilnius District [1]. Residents reported hearing the sound of the drone as early as 5 a.m., according to social media posts.
The SBGS, responsible for detecting, monitoring, and responding to UAVs that enter or threaten Lithuanian airspace, particularly at the border, immediately sprang into action [2]. The service coordinated with other agencies, including the Defence Ministry, the Police Department, the Armed Forces, and the Fire and Rescue Department, to share real-time information and streamline response protocols [1].
The SBGS officers are equipped with anti-drone equipment to neutralize, down, or make them lose contact with the operator [3]. However, in this instance, the UAV was not captured. The lack of further signals about the drone's movements led officers to assume that it had fallen [4].
The Lithuanian Air Force claimed to have detected the object while it was still in Belarus, and the information was passed on to NATO's Combined Air Operations Center [5]. If a UAV or any object is detected by the SBGS, the information is handed over to relevant authorities, including the Defense Ministry, the Lithuanian Armed Forces, and the Air Force [6].
The SBGS does not have airspace surveillance systems, unlike the Air Force, which is responsible for airspace control, surveillance, and defense [7]. All actions related to the entry of a UAV into Lithuanian airspace are further coordinated by the Air Force.
Renatas Pozoela, director of the Fire and Rescue Department, has rejected criticism about the population not being warned earlier about the potential danger [8]. About 95 percent of Bite users, 90 percent of Telia users, and 99 percent of Tele 2 users received the alert message shortly after 7 a.m. [9].
This is the second time this month that Lithuania has recorded a drone entering from Belarus [10]. The most likely version is that the object is a Russian aircraft disoriented by the Ukrainian air defense, according to the military [11]. If a drone or another object poses a threat to human life or health, SBGS officers can use a firearm against it [4].
Lithuania is working to improve detection capabilities, including radar and electronic surveillance, to respond effectively to UAV incursions—which is part of a larger regional and allied effort across Baltic states to strengthen border and airspace security against hybrid threats, including drones used for reconnaissance or provocation [1][2][3]. The SBGS contributes to establishing clear protocols and deadlines for drone threat response within Lithuania’s broader air defense commands [1].
In response to the incident, additional army capabilities will be deployed closer to the Belarusian border following the incident on July 10 [12]. The SBGS, therefore, plays a frontline role in border airspace control, UAV threat surveillance, and defense coordination with military and civilian agencies to protect sovereignty and public safety in the face of hybrid warfare tactics involving drones [1][2][4].
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