Unidentified Object Flying Over Lithuania Toward Kaliningrad Turns Out to Be a Drone

Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Center has clarified the information regarding the unidentified object that entered the country’s airspace from Belarus on September 13.

According to Vilmantas Vitkauskas, the center’s head, the recorded flight parameters identified the intruder as an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone), LRT reports.

The investigation is ongoing, as specialists do not yet have the object itself in their possession to make a definitive determination.

“Until the object is physically recovered, it is difficult to say for certain. However, based on the parameters that were recorded, it was likely a drone,” Vilmantas Vitkauskas reported.

The Lithuanian Air Force’s radars have limited capability to accurately identify the type of aircraft, recording only its speed, altitude, and flight path.

Local residents in the Varėna area also confirmed that a drone flew over the area, saying they heard it pass overhead.

The object flew 60–70 km through Lithuanian airspace before heading toward Russia’s Kaliningrad region.

One theory Lithuanian experts are considering is that the drone may have been used by smugglers.

Because winds are unfavorable for balloons, smugglers are looking for alternative ways to transport their cargo.

The center noted that 22 similar cases involving the use of UAVs were recorded in the border area in September alone.

At 4:05 a.m. on September 13, Lithuanian Air Force radars near Varėna detected a radar contact moving toward the Kaliningrad region.

At 4:25 a.m., the object left Lithuanian airspace and crossed the border into the Kaliningrad region.