Unidentified drone flew over US missile defence base in Poland: military personnel called 112, - media
An unauthorised drone appeared over one of Poland’s key military installations, which houses a component of the US missile defence system. Instead of neutralising or destroying it, the military called the emergency number 112.
Onet PL reports on this, according to Censor.NET.
What happened?
The Polish army has been promising for years to build an effective defence system against drones. However, according to journalists, an unauthorised unmanned aerial vehicle was detected on the afternoon of 15 September near the US missile defence base in Redzikowo. This base is of strategic importance for the security of Poland, NATO and the US — the facility is guarded by American military personnel, but the Polish side has assumed primary responsibility for its security, deploying a special security unit.
This was confirmed by the Polish Ministry of Defence
The publication contacted the Polish Ministry of National Defence to enquire about the incident. The ministry confirmed that detection systems had spotted a drone operating approximately half a kilometre from the base: the flight lasted around five minutes.
The Ministry of Defence also reported that it had identified the location from which the device operator was acting, and that the relevant authorities, including the police, had been informed of the incident.
- The very presence of a drone in an area where a no-fly zone is in force raises questions about the effectiveness of the site’s security. All the more so given that, according to journalists, one of the measures taken by the unit was to call the emergency number 112.
The country’s Ministry of Defence has not disclosed whether any measures were taken to neutralise the drone. It is also unknown whether anti-drone systems were deployed during the incident — the ministry cites security considerations and refuses to disclose details of the security, reconnaissance and electronic warfare systems available to Redzikov.
Drones as a wider issue
This situation is telling, as the threat posed by drones has for years been identified as one of the greatest challenges to the protection of critical infrastructure. According to the publication’s sources, attempts were made to procure anti-drone systems for the base even before it had achieved operational readiness. The publication’s sources emphasise that even the best-protected ground-based facility can remain vulnerable to airborne threats if it lacks effective means of countering drones.
The Polish Ministry of Defence insists that every instance of unauthorised drone activity in the vicinity of a secure military facility is treated with the utmost seriousness. However, the ministry did not respond to journalists’ questions as to why the drone was not neutralised and what specific measures were taken after it was detected.
