NATO fighters scrambled as suspicious aircraft from Belarus crashes in Lithuania

Lithuanian authorities have reported that a suspicious homemade aircraft, resembling a Shahed drone, entered Lithuania from Belarus on July 10, 2025. 

At around 11:30 local time, the Lithuanian Air Force reported detecting an object moving towards the Lithuanian border from Belarus.  

Crash near closed border checkpoint 

Initial reports from the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service indicated that the border guards at the Kena checkpoint in the Vilnius district reported a flying object that had landed on the ground.  

The aircraft crashed near the closed Shumsk border checkpoint in Lithuania, about a kilometer from the border with Belarus.  

At first local authorities thought it could be a Shahed drone, which is an Iranian-designed loitering munition, also known as a kamikaze drone or suicide drone, which Russia is currently using in its war with Ukraine.  

However, the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service and Lithuanian Armed Forces confirmed that it was not a drone, but a flying object that looked like a makeshift aircraft. Initial reports suggest that the model is made of plywood and foam. So far there is no evidence that the aircraft was transporting any cargo. 

“Troops on standby are sent to the site to take over the protection of the fallen object. The object is likely homemade and is not dangerous,” Lithuanian Armed Forces statement read. 

Picture analysis suggests the crashed aircraft resembles Russia’s Gerbera UAV, a low-cost, simplified version of the Iranian Shahed-136, known in Russia as the Geran‑2. Made of foam and plywood, the Gerbera is lightweight, inexpensive, and mimics Shahed drones on radar to confuse and saturate air defenses. Built in Tatarstan, it is primarily used as a decoy and reportedly contains foreign-sourced components, including Chinese engines and Western electronics.

A Russian Gerbera UAV. 14/https://t.co/UTlfHV2JwH pic.twitter.com/2FTg41lwT1— Rob Lee (@RALee85) January 25, 2025

Lithuanian leaders briefly evacuated during airspace breach 

The airspace violation triggered heightened security protocols in Vilnius. Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas and Parliament Speaker Saulius Skvernelis were briefly escorted to a shelter by the Lithuanian Public Security Service as a precautionary measure. 

According to the Lithuanian Armed Forces, NATO air policing mission fighters that were in the air at the time had their alert status changed from training mode to task mode, but their mission was called off when the object fell soon after. 

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO has significantly increased its airspace monitoring and rapid response readiness, particularly along the alliance’s eastern flank.  

Several incidents involving stray missiles and drones entering NATO territory, including Poland, Romania, and Moldova, have heightened concerns about spillover from the conflict. These breaches have led to the deployment of additional air defense assets, and stricter rules of engagement for air policing missions. 

The Lithuanian State Border Guard Service has announced that after Lithuania strengthened its border security with Belarus, smugglers are now employing unmanned aerial vehicles like drones, balloons, and others to transport small loads of illegal cigarettes. 

So far in 2025, Lithuanian border guards have seized 30 drones that were transporting illegal cigarette shipments from Belarus. In the previous year, smugglers used a total of 54 drones. The post NATO fighters scrambled as suspicious aircraft from Belarus crashes in Lithuania appeared first on AeroTime.

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