Poland approached open confrontation more closely than ever since World War II when Russian drones repeatedly entered its airspace during the night, prompting the dispatch of sophisticated NATO fighter jets, according to a senior Polish general who described the situation as "using a cannon to shoot a fly."
The synchronized attack revealed significant weaknesses in NATO's air defense systems for lower altitudes, compelling the alliance to deploy costly high-tech aircraft against inexpensive drone targets.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated that there were at least 19 incursions by Shahed-type drones close to the Polish border, marking the first major trial of Poland's air defense systems since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in early 2022.
The event involved both physical assaults and advanced misinformation efforts, according to Lieutenant General Jarosław Gromadziński, who mentioned the intense dissemination of inaccurate information regarding drone positions near Warsaw.
'Combined hybrid action'
"I spent the entire night awake. Starting from 2 am, there was a surge of false information from different online trolls claiming that drones had supposedly already arrived in Ciechanów (97 km from Warsaw)," Gromadziński stated.
"It was evidently a combined hybrid operation: the Shahed attack and the media efforts," the former Eurocorps commander stated.
From his perspective, this demonstrates that the action was undeniably provocative: the Russians were assessing Poland's ability to respond and the speed of its reaction.
"This was put out in the morning, indicating that our services began to address it. It was a significant test of our abilities," he added.
Overall, the general expressed a favorable view of the Polish reaction, particularly the brave choice to shut down the airspace for commercial flights and deploy NATO troops.
"Gromadziński stressed his complete support for the decision to permit military aircraft, which removed the danger," he said.
The key point is that these were not only our aircraft, but also allied planes stationed in Poland as part of their official posting. This demonstrated the power of NATO.
As per the general, this is not the most important thing right now.
"For me, it's not crucial that we destroyed those drones; that's something we should do without hesitation. Definitely. However, the most critical issue at the moment is what Polish diplomacy and the allies will undertake," Gromadziński stated.
Without a clear reaction from the entire NATO alliance, he stated, "this will encourage the Russian side, and we can expect more frequent and deeper drone incursions into our country."
Express a single perspective
Although the US Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, has expressed willingness to protect "every part of NATO territory," the White House, US Department of State, and the Defense Department remain quiet regarding the breaches.
Former Polish envoy to the United States, Marek Magierowski, in an article published by Wirtualna Polska, described it as "annoying silence".
General Gromadziński anticipates a unified reaction. "The allies need to reach consensus behind the scenes and then issue a declaration in unison," he mentioned.
"This is where the power of our diplomatic efforts resides — will we manage to persuade everyone, particularly the US, to take a drastic action," he questioned.
The matter is not solely related to military operations, but rather "increasing sanctions, embargoes, potentially closing the airspace above Kaliningrad, or repercussions for nations that collaborate with Russia. This is where the entire set of measures comes into play," stated Gromadziński.
Firing a cannon at a fly
A detailed evaluation regarding the application of advanced fighter jets in drone combat was shared by the former head of US ground forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges.
"NATO/USEUCOM must carry out essential air defense drills throughout the operational area. Deploying F-35s and F-22s against unmanned aerial vehicles indicates that we are still not adequately ready," he stated in a message on X.
General Gromadzinski fully concurred. "This is like using a cannon to shoot a fly. We need to establish a multi-tiered air defense system that incorporates both kinetic and jamming systems at the lowest altitude," he explained.
Understanding the features of drones is important, and thus, examining their speed, flight path, range, and agility is vital for successful defense. "Drones can be jammed, but kinetic destruction is also necessary," Gromadziński explained.
A gap in defence
The challenge of countering drones became evident two years ago, as they started to be deployed extensively in Ukraine.
"Every nation realized they had a weakness in this lower level of protection. That's why aircraft are being utilized today, even though we had no alternative," acknowledges Gen Gromadzinski.
" Ideally, reconnaissance units should be positioned at every level along the border. We aim for a high missile ceiling, currently have a medium one, but have lost the lowest," the expert mentioned.
In his view, system integration will play a crucial role.
"This higher missile ceiling is more complex, and we immediately incorporated it during the development of our layered system, but we failed to maintain this lower level," Gromadziński explained.
Currently, an anti-drone warfare reconnaissance system needs to be developed at this fundamental level quickly. Nevertheless, it should be incorporated into the primary system, enabling us to recognize the target and the so-called targeting, and specify which target is being destroyed by which method.
General Gromadziński emphasized that during times of tension and fear, people should rely on experts rather than online influencers. He also highlighted another problem within the nation's defense system: confusion and disorder in information during a crisis.
"We lack an entity similar to STRATCOM, which refers to strategic communication at the governmental level. Recently, a local police station released details about a drone that was discovered. There shouldn't be such occurrences," he mentioned.
"A unified source of information is needed to prevent the spread of false news. Citizens should understand that they are only getting information from this channel. This is an information battle where Russia excels," Gromadziński concluded.