Germany to send fighter jets to Latvia during election amid drone threat

Germany's defense ministry has announced its intention to send four Eurofighter jets to Latvia for approximately one week from late September until early October. This deployment aims to bolster security during Latvia's upcoming parliamentary election, scheduled for October 3rd, amid growing concerns over drone intrusions along NATO's eastern border. The Latvian government had previously requested additional support from its NATO allies to secure their airspace in advance of the election.

The Latvian defense ministry has not yet provided comment on the matter. Over the past year, Latvia has experienced multiple drone incidents. In June, NATO fighters successfully shot down a foreign drone over the eastern part of the country. Another drone was also destroyed in August, reportedly belonging to Ukraine and having entered Latvian airspace from Belarus due to Russian electronic warfare interference.

Latvia's defense ministry has cautioned that further incursions of foreign drones could potentially violate their sovereign airspace as long as Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine persists. In addition to the four Eurofighters, several dozen German personnel will accompany the aircraft. This deployment is in line with NATO's enhanced Air Policing North mission, executed under the umbrella of the alliance's integrated air and missile defense system.

Germany has previously sent Eurofighters to Estonia as part of regular NATO air policing rotations. The latest mission to Ämari, located in central Estonia, will see the deployment of five Eurofighters and approximately 120 troops from December through March. This will be Germany's seventh such mission to Estonia within the past year.