NATO'S MISGUIDED AIR DEFENSE DEBATE ⟩ Previous Air Defense Engagements of Allies Support Radoslaw Sikorski's Stance on Defending Poland in Ukrainian Airspace

Photo: ALBERT ZAWADA

4th September 2024, 18:07

Senior defense sources from a NATO member state indicated that air defense battery commanders in countries bordering Russia lack the autonomy to make timely decisions, undermining the effectiveness of the whole collective air defense system.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski recently expressed his personal views on airspace security in an interview with the Financial Times, advocating for Poland's right to shoot down Russian missiles and drones in Ukrainian airspace if they fly too close to the Polish border.

Sikorski's public calls for this right of Poland's aerial self-defense in Ukraine's air space reportedly intensified after a Russian drone allegedly crossed into Polish territory during an attack on Ukraine on August 26. Poland has later backed off from the claim, but Sikorski argued after the alleged incident, that intercepting missiles at higher altitudes over Ukraine reduces the risk to Polish civilians.

"NATO membership does not absolve any country of its responsibility to defend its own airspace—this is our constitutional duty," Polish Foreign Minister told Financial Times. He added that proactive engagement against air threats is a legitimate form of self-defense, as debris falling within Polish borders could pose significant risks.

German Bundeswehr Patriot air defense systems securing Poland's eastern border in 2023. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa/Scanpix

Sikorski’s stance contrasts with comments from NATO officials. Outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated in July that Poland should not shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine, affirming NATO’s policy of non-engagement in the conflict. Stoltenberg reiterated that NATO would not become part of the war. His statements were made as a response to Polish proposal of shooting down missiles targeting Ukraine.

An anonymous NATO source, speaking to the Spanish news site Europa Press, responded to Sikorski's Financial Times interview with concerns about possible escalative nature of such actions. The source clarified that individual actions, even if considered self-defense by member states, could impact NATO as a whole.

However, previous air defense operations of NATO countries contradict this recent anti-escalatory rhetoric from NATO officials and support Sikorski's stance. In April, NATO members, including the U.S., UK, and France, engaged with aerial threats targeting Israel in the Middle East without concerns about entangling the alliance. Similarly, in 2015, Turkey's F-16 shot down a Russian SU-24 near its airspace without prior NATO consultation, unilaterally defending NATO airspace.

Downed targets marked with pieces of duct tape on the panel of Ukrainian air defenders. Photo: Viktor Petrõšõn

The debate between Sikorski and NATO officials exposes two deeper issues regarding NATO's air defense strategy. Senior defense official of a NATO member state told The Baltic Sentinel that shooting down missiles and drones in Ukraine's air space has never been officially on the agenda of the North Atlantic Council nor in other official formats in NATO. It has been kept off the table due to the U.S. reluctance to discuss it.

The other problematic layer exposed by the described "air defense debate" is the politicization of tactical air defense decisions on NATO’s eastern flank. Currently, single operational air defense decisions in countries like Poland and the Baltic states require political or even international approval (many air defense assets in the Baltics and Poland are operated by Allies), which is utterly impractical when dealing with immediate short-lived but deadly threats such as missile or drone attacks.

A senior military officer told The Baltic Sentinel that the over-politicization of air defense operations also within NATO airspace was recently a problem for both Poland and the Baltics. Poland began addressing the issue after the deadly missile incident in November 2022, caused by Ukrainian air defense, but there is no information whether or not it was solved.

"For air defense to be effective, decisions to engage must be made at the [air defense] battery commander level," the officer said, adding that pre-authorization for national and allied air defense officers in Poland and the Baltics is essential for the collective air defense system to work effectively.

Former Polish Chief of Defense General Rajmund Andrzejczak also criticized NATO’s largely reactive collective defense strategy in recent interview with The Baltic Sentinel, advocating for a more proactive approach in all military domains. He argued that waiting for Russian forces to breach Polish or Lithuanian borders is a flawed strategy. "We should prevent such an operation from being launched in the first place," he said. While his proposals for more proactive measures have caused some tensions within NATO, Andrzejczak emphasized that NATO's political leadership has yet to catch up with the realities of modern European defense.

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