Italian CAEW over the Baltics after yesterday night’s drones incident

Tensions remain high in Eastern Europe after yesterday’s serious incident, when Poland reported that its airspace was violated by at least ten Russian drones, most of which were later shot down by Polish fighters. According to Warsaw, this was probably the most serious violation of NATO territory since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

In response to the heightened alert, NATO surveillance flights over the Baltic region have been significantly reinforced.

This morning, an Italian Air Force Gulfstream E.550 CAEW (reg. MM62293) took off from Ämari AB, Estonia, carrying out an extensive surveillance mission over the Baltics. The aircraft orbited between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, flying patterns designed to maximize radar coverage of the borders with Russia and Belarus.

The Italian CAEW was already involved yesterday, when it departed from Ämari just after midnight, operating for several hours in coordination with Polish and NATO assets to monitor the situation.

The deployment of Italian surveillance aircraft to Estonia is part of NATO’s ongoing effort to strengthen the Alliance’s eastern flank. These platforms, equipped with advanced radar and C2 (Command & Control) systems, are crucial in detecting and tracking aerial threats such as the Russian drones that crossed into Polish territory.

With Russian activity in Ukraine intensifying and Moscow’s drone strikes increasingly affecting NATO’s borders, today’s Italian mission confirms the critical role played by Alliance surveillance assets in safeguarding the airspace of Eastern Europe.