Estonian Military Ends Ground Search of Missile Misfired by NATO Fighter Jet

TALLINN (Sputnik) - Estonian servicemen failed to find a missile that was accidentally fired in the Baltic country's airspace by a Spanish fighter jet earlier this week after searching its likely landing site, the press service of the Estonian Defense Forces said in a statement on Saturday, adding that the ground search has been discontinued.

"We can tell that, according to our assessment, the missile did not land on the controlled territory," Capt. Karmo Saar, the head of the explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) center of Estonia's combat engineer battalion, said as quoted in the statement.

According to Estonian Air Force Commander Col. Riivo Valge, the military will continue searching for the missile from aircraft.

On Tuesday, a Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon mistakenly fired an air-to-air missile while on NATO’s Baltic air-policing mission.

READ MORE: Spain Will Not Change Pilots in NATO Mission Over Missile Incident in Estonia

According to media reports, the projectile presumably fell near the Endla nature reserve in central Estonia. The Estonian military searched the area of approximately 600 square meters (about 6,458 square feet) using metal detectors.

READ MORE: Spanish Fighter Jet Accidentally Fires Missile Over S Estonia — Estonian Army