NATO’s air defenses just got a first-of-its-kind test as Russian drones breached allied skies, forcing fighter jets into action

NATO jets scrambled over Poland after Russian drones pierced its airspace, setting the stage for a first-of-its-kind test for alliance defenses.

Polish officials said early on Wednesday that multiple Russian drones were shot down after crossing into the country’s airspace, marking the Ukraine war’s latest spillover into NATO territory.

NATO fighter jets responded to the incident, with an alliance spokesperson characterizing it as the first time that NATO aircraft “have engaged potential threats in allied airspace.”

Ukrainian and Western officials condemned the incursion, calling it a test of NATO’s air defenses, where the alliance has acknowledged that it has gaps.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “just keeps escalating, expanding his war, and testing the West,” Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister, said in response. “The longer he faces no strength in response, the more aggressive he gets.”

Petr Fiala, the Czech Republic’s prime minister, said that the Russian drone incursion “is a test of the defense capabilities of NATO countries.” And European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius, likewise, said that “Russia once again tests frontier states.”

The Polish military said NATO aircraft, including Dutch F-35 stealth fighter jets, took part in the air defense operations above Poland.

The alliance also scrambled F-16 fighter jets, an airborne early warning aircraft, and a refueling tanker, while Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries in Poland were placed on alert.

“This is more than a careless, navigation error from the Russians,” assessed Mick Ryan, a retired Australian general and strategist, wrote on social media. “At least a dozen drones appear to have crossed into Poland,” he noted. “It would be better described as ‘probing’ — in case NATO establishes bases in eastern Poland to support a future presence in Ukraine.”

The apparent test comes as NATO grapples with well-known vulnerabilities in its air defenses.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has raised alarms across the alliance, exposing how ill-prepared NATO may be for the mix of threats that define today’s battlefields: missile barrages, aircraft, and the unprecedented use of drones. Experts and officials say the war has underscored the urgent need for layered, modern defenses.

In the decades since the end of the Cold War, the West has largely neglected ground-based air defense, leaving Europe with too few systems and missiles to counter Russia’s growing arsenal and industrial output. NATO has since acknowledged the gap. Earlier this year, Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that allies plan to make air defense a priority, calling for a fivefold increase in capacity amid increased defense spending.

Europe also fears that it lacks protection against the kind of small, cheap drones that have become Russia’s signature weapon. High-end systems like the US-made Patriot can knock them out, but firing million-dollar missiles at thousand-dollar drones is not sustainable, especially with production bottlenecks and backlogs already straining supply.

To shore up its eastern flank, NATO could need to expand radar and drone detection networks, harden and disperse vulnerable airbases, streamline command systems, rebuild munitions stockpiles, and field layered defenses that can handle both drones and traditional air threats.

In his reaction to the latest incursion, Kubilius said that “we must urgently develop a ‘Drone wall’ along entire EU Eastern flank, right now the most important common flagship project.”

A number of projects are in the works to strengthen NATO against the possibility of further Russian aggression.

NATO is testing low-cost defenses against drones and glide bombs in support of Ukraine that could later shield allied territory, while Poland and other eastern members build anti-drone networks and fortifications. The US Army and NATO partners are also pursuing an “Eastern Flank Deterrence Line” to strengthen ground defenses, though many of these efforts remain in early stages.

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