French Rafale shoots down unidentified drone over Latvia near Russian border after reported jamming

A French Rafale fighter jet shot down an unidentified drone over Latvia on the morning of June 8, 2026, after the aircraft scrambled from Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania under the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission. Latvian Armed Forces said the drone had entered national airspace and that NATO fighters positioned over the Rēzekne district neutralized it over Berzgale parish.

The parish lies less than 20 miles from the Russian border and roughly 340 miles from Ukraine.

The French Air and Space Force stated that its pilots identified the drone before firing an air-to-air missile over an uninhabited area. At least two videos posted on social media captured the launch, the missile’s smoke trail, and the subsequent detonation.

Latvian Defense Minister Raivis Melnis told reporters that NATO command ordered the engagement after determining Russia had employed electromagnetic warfare in the area.

A NATO spokesperson confirmed that jamming occurs regularly in the Baltic region and can affect civil aviation, adding that the incident remains under review. No injuries or property damage were reported. ” The Rafale carried MICA missiles with a reported maximum range of 37 miles, the standard load-out for Baltic Air Policing rotations.

The French Ministry of Defense plans to add a pod-mounted 68 mm laser-guided rocket system to the aircraft later this summer for lower-cost drone intercepts. NATO has maintained continuous fighter cover over Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania since 2004 because none of the three Baltic states fields its own combat aircraft for round-the-clock air defense.

Previous intercepts include a Romanian F-16 downing a Ukrainian drone over Estonia on May 19, 2026, and NATO aircraft destroying at least three Russian drones after 19 airspace violations over Poland in September 2025.