Poland lowers threshold for shooting down aircraft

 

TT-AFP

 

Published 14.20

 

Polens utrikesminister Radoslaw Sikorski visar upp en rysk attackdrönare av iransk Shahed-modell vid en pressträff i oktober förra året. Arkivbild. Foto: Kin Cheung/AP/TTPolish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski displays a Russian attack drone of the Iranian Shahed model at a press conference last October. File photo. Photo: Kin Cheung/AP/TT

Poland is lowering the threshold for when its fighter pilots are permitted to shoot down foreign aircraft entering Polish airspace.

Standard peacetime procedure requires visual identification of the aircraft before a decision to open fire can be made. Now, identification via radar signals or similar data will suffice.

"We cannot remain passive in the face of threats, and all indications are that they will only increase," says Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk, adding that such measures are otherwise taken only during wartime or a state of military emergency.

The decision is partly motivated by the view that drones could potentially fly into Poland "on a daily basis" in the future, according to the minister.