What Mattered This Week

BALTICS — On October 18, an unidentified object, possibly an unmanned aerial vehicle, entered Lithuanian airspace between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. local time.

It triggered red air alerts in Panevėžys and Šiauliai counties, a brief closure of Kaunas Airport, and the scramble of NATO Baltic Air Policing fighter jets that tracked the object but did not engage it, according to the Latvian National Armed Forces and Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center statements.

ROMANIA — On October 17, two Romanian Air Force F-16 aircraft on air policing missions scrambled from the 86th Air Base Borcea at 5:43 PM local time (2:43 PM UTC) after radar systems detected a group of aerial targets approximately 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Snake Island, heading southwest, the Romanian Ministry of Defense stated.

The first target entered Romanian airspace at 5:59 PM local time and was shot down at 6:01 PM local time by one of the F-16 aircraft.

PERSIAN GULF — On October 16, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) received reports of two separate attacks on tankers northeast of Al Jubayl, Saudi Arabia, with all crew reported safe.

The first incident involved an unknown projectile striking a tanker at 9:00 AM UTC, approximately 68 nautical miles (78 miles, 126 km) northeast of Al Jubayl.

MIDDLE EAST — On October 16 the Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen intercepted and destroyed three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV drones) in the Southern and Riyadh regions, two cruise missiles over the Red Sea, and a ballistic missile launched toward Yanbu, Major General Turki Al-Malki, the coalition spokesman, said in statements released through the Saudi Press Agency.

The intercepts occurred hours after Yemeni Health Minister Qasem Buhaibeh reported that a Houthi attack on the Maashiq Presidential Palace in Aden, the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, killed five people and wounded 16 on October 15. The dead and wounded included security guards and civilian employees at the complex, Buhaibeh said.

MIDDLE EAST — On October 15, Houthi forces fired missiles at the al-Maashiq presidential palace in Aden, Yemen, the seat of the internationally recognized government, killing two security personnel, Yemeni officials said.

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation has extended the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh through October 17 following missile and unmanned aerial vehicle attacks earlier in the month that killed at least 17 people there, including one U.S. citizen, and injured hundreds, the Saudi-led coalition said.

MIDDLE EAST — United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations received time-late reports on October 13 of two container ships struck by unknown projectiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, one inbound and one outbound, with both vessels reporting minor damage, no casualties, and continued passage.

United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) issued Warning 172-26 for a 50,000 tonne container ship struck at 4:40 PM UTC while conducting an inbound transit, and Warning 173-26 for a 19,000 tonne container ship struck at 5:00 PM UTC while conducting an outbound transit.

SAUDI ARABIA — Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation announced on October 12 that the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has been extended to allow completion of procedures verifying the safety and operational readiness of the airport’s facilities, in coordination with the relevant authorities.

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned in the strongest terms the continued attacks by the Houthi group on the airport, which it said resulted in injuries to a number of civilians, and affirmed full solidarity with Saudi Arabia along with support for measures safeguarding its security and stability.

SAUDI ARABIA — The Saudi-led coalition attributed an October 10 strike by Yemen’s Houthi forces on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that killed 12 people, including one U.S. citizen, and injured 309, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said.

The coalition called the strike a war crime. On October 11, an unidentified projectile struck Terminal 4 at the same airport and caused a fire, the coalition’s spokesman said, while Saudi authorities reported injuries.

EAST ASIA — Japan’s Ministry of Defense and Cabinet Secretariat assessed that North Korea launched at least two ballistic missiles from inland areas on October 12, with one flying more than 560 miles (910 km) and both estimated to have fallen near North Korea’s east coast or in the Sea of Japan outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

The launches occurred around 9:19 AM and 9:36 AM Japan Standard Time (12:19 AM and 12:36 AM UTC). The first reached a maximum altitude of about 12 miles (20 km) and flew about 137 miles (220 km).