Shot down · Lithuania
Italian NATO fighter shoots down Gerbera drone near Pratkūnai, Lithuania
· Lithuania · near Pratkūnai
Foreign-drone shoot-down; official Russian-type assessment
Overnight on 14–15 September 2026 an Italian fighter jet operating with NATO engaged and shot down a drone over Lithuania near Pratkūnai. Lithuanian authorities then examined the debris and the drone’s electronics. No casualties were reported.
The drone was identified as a Gerbera, a type used by Russia. On 16 September Lithuania’s president assessed that it had likely been intended for a Ukrainian target. A possible diversion by Ukrainian electronic warfare has been put forward to explain how it reached Lithuania, but that causal account is an assessment. Neither the Russian-type identification nor the intended-target assessment is proof of a deliberate attack on Lithuania.
Whether this particular drone carried explosives was not established; Gerbera variants may be decoys or armed.
Attribution and uncertainty
- Origin / operator / attribution
- Russian-used type; president assessed likely intended Ukrainian target
- Investigation / uncertainty
- Russian-type identification and intended-target assessment distinguished from proof of deliberate attack on Lithuania.
Sources · 2
Full record
Map positions are approximate anchors for the named place, not verified incident coordinates.
- Reported date
- 2026-09-15
- Date basis
- Overnight 14–15 September, recorded in prior report as 15 September; attribution update 16 September; EEST
- Location / jurisdiction
- Near Pratkūnai; EU airspace/land
- Event categories
- Incursion; NATO interception; shoot-down; electronics recovery
- What was reported
- Italian NATO fighter engaged drone.
- Aircraft / vessel / quantity
- 1 Gerbera UAV
- Origin / operator / attribution
- Russian-used type; president assessed likely intended Ukrainian target
- Damage / casualties / disruption
- No casualties reported
- Response / outcome
- Italian NATO aircraft shot it down; Lithuanian authorities examined debris/electronics.
- Investigation / uncertainty
- Russian-type identification and intended-target assessment distinguished from proof of deliberate attack on Lithuania.
- Route / entry mechanism
- Possible diversion by Ukrainian electronic warfare; causal account is an assessment
- Explosive payload
- Not established for this airframe; Gerbera variants may be decoys or armed
- Counting / links
- Initial story dated 14 September and update 16 September concern same shoot-down.
- Research provenance
- Prior research; not independently rechecked in full for this export
Record E058. Record fields keep the register’s original wording.