Accra:Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius announced that Lithuania is in discussions with NATO to amend the current procedures for drone interception when they enter Lithuanian airspace.

According to Anadolu Agency, this move follows an incident where a suspected Ukrainian drone crossed into Lithuania from Poland and exploded. Sinkevicius highlighted on Monday that existing NATO rules mandate fighter pilots to visually identify an object before engaging, even if the object is detected via radar, which can be challenging under poor weather conditions.

The prime minister expects these consultations to conclude in about a month. He noted that NATO might allow individual nations to make decisions regarding the interception of such objects. Lithuanian authorities confirmed that the crashed drone was Ukrainian and carried explosives. Ukraine issued an apology, citing a loss of contact with the drone during an operation.

This event has led Lithuania to review its air-defense protocols and consider changing its procedures to permit action based on radar detection alone, bypassing the need for visual confirmation.