„We will thoroughly assess this situation. One aspect of assessing the threat is the presence of this object in our territory. The air police's task was quickly changed from surveillance to another type of task. However, this object fell very quickly into our territory and, without continuing to fly, did not pose a threat,“ she added.
Arūnas Kumpis, a volunteer who was fighting in Ukraine at the time, says that such drones have multiple purposes.
„It was first identified in Ukraine at the end of July last year when two such aircraft attacked Kyiv. It is manufactured in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation, in the same factory where the Shahed-136 is manufactured. (...) They were originally manufactured as decoys to imitate the Shahed-136,“ said Kumpis.
„The purpose is twofold: for attacks and electronic warfare. (...) No one could determine whether it posed a threat or not because what is inside it cannot be seen visually,“ he emphasised.
The State Border Guard Service (VSAT) reported on Thursday that a drone resembling a homemade aircraft flew into Lithuania from Belarusian territory on Thursday. It was spotted in Lithuanian territory at 11:30 a.m. According to border guards, the uncrewed airliner was flying at an altitude of 100 meters at a speed of 50–60 km/h.
According to Lithuanian Army Major Gintautas Ciunis, an investigation is still underway into the homemade aircraft that flew into Lithuanian airspace from Belarus on Thursday.
According to the service, the object did not pose an air threat. According to preliminary data, the object was reportedly made of plywood and foam.
For its part, the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LAF) said that after being informed of the airspace violation, fighter jets performing NATO air policing duties in Lithuania were instructed to respond. However, after the object crashed, the mission was cancelled.