Poland will allow Russian drones and missiles to be shot down more quickly without visual verification

Poland will change the procedures for military aircraft and helicopters that intercept aerial targets entering the country’s airspace from Russia. The new rules will allow the military to shoot down missiles and drones more quickly without the need for prior visual confirmation of the target.

What will change?

Under the current peacetime procedure, Polish pilots must approach within a sufficient distance to visually confirm the presence of a target in Polish airspace before opening fire.

The new rules will replace this visual confirmation with what is known as “positive identification.” A radar reading alone will be sufficient for a pilot or operations commander to authorize the shooting down of an object. This will allow the Polish military to more quickly destroy missiles or drones entering Polish airspace from Russia.

“Until now, we have not used such options, as they are typically reserved for a state of war or martial law. However, given the threat and the fact that Poland currently faces the daily possibility of drones entering our territory, we must implement these changes for the sake of both the pilots and national security,” Tomczyk noted. 

What led up to this?

• The changes are being prepared against the backdrop of rising tensions between Poland and Russia, which has repeatedly violated Polish airspace. On September 23, a Russian Mi-8 military helicopter briefly violated Polish airspace near the country’s northern border.
• The helicopter flew in from the Russian Kaliningrad exclave and crossed the border north of Braniewo at approximately 11:08 a.m. local time. It penetrated Polish airspace by a maximum of approximately 300 meters and remained there for 42 seconds. Polish military radar systems tracked the aircraft. Fighter jets were scrambled, and ground forces were put on alert. The Operational Command stated that Poland’s air defense units are on duty around the clock and remain on constant alert to defend the country’s airspace.
• Another incident occurred on the morning of September 16 amid a Russian drone attack on Ukraine. Poland scrambled fighter jets and temporarily suspended operations at the Lublin and Rzeszów-Jasionka airports. At around 7:00 a.m. local time, military aircraft took off on a mission. 

Deputy Minister of Defense Cezary Tomczyk made this statement on September 28 on RMF24.

A Russian military helicopter violated Polish airspace.

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