Overview

• About 19–20 Russian-made drones crossed into Poland on the night of Sept. 9–10 and were engaged by Polish F-16s and Dutch F-35s with detection and command support from an Italian G-550 CAEW.
• Warsaw will deploy roughly 40,000 soldiers to the eastern border and has restricted civilian flights along the frontier until early December for national security.
• Poland requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting as Germany extends air policing, the UK readies Typhoon fighters for Poland, and France commits three Rafale jets.
• Intent remains disputed, with NATO’s military chief urging patience for investigations while some officials suggest a deliberate test and others point to error or electronic-warfare interference.
• The incident intensified scrutiny of gaps in counter‑drone defenses and is accelerating Poland’s East Shield program and investment in sensors, drones and air‑defence capabilities.