Latvia has changed its drone interception procedures after an interceptor drone detected and pursued an unidentified drone that entered Latvian airspace last week but failed to destroy it. Defence Minister Raivis Melnis announced the changes on Monday 9 November in an interview with Latvian Television's Rita Panorama programme.

The main change is a shorter decision-making chain. Interceptor teams on the ground will now have greater authority to act when they detect a target, instead of waiting for approval at every level. The command centre will still be able to stop an interception if allied aircraft enter the area and their safety could be put at risk.

Minister apologises and promises faster response

Melnis apologised to residents for the failed interception, saying the drone was spotted and pursued but not shot down. He said the reasons were the existing coordination procedures and the military's limited experience with the recently deployed system. Latvia used to rely on allied aircraft, and coordinating an interceptor and aircraft in the air at the same time cost valuable time.

The minister said he had personally reviewed the whole decision-making process with military commanders in Latvia's eastern border region, removing some of the additional safeguards the military had previously introduced. Additional radar systems have also been deployed along the eastern border to detect drones earlier.

The drone interception system was only deployed at the end of September, and military personnel are still learning how to operate it. Melnis said he hoped the changes would make it possible to shoot down intruding drones successfully in future.

Sources: Bytes Europe (ERR/Latvian Television) and Baltic Monitor.