Russian Shahed drone spent over half an hour in Polish skies before "disappearing from radar" – Polish media outlet

An unidentified aerial object that flew into Poland from Ukraine on Monday morning and remained in the country's airspace for at least 33 minutes was most likely a Russian Shahed drone. The object disappeared from the radar at around 07:16 above the Tyszowce gmina. A search area has been established there.

Source: European Pravda citing Polish news agency RMF FM

Details: It is reported that Poland has not yet officially announced what type of aerial object flew into its territory on Monday morning as Russia was carrying out a massive missile attack on Ukraine. According to RMF FM, however, the military are unofficially claiming that it was most likely a Russian Shahed kamikaze drone.

Lieutenant Colonel Jacek Goryszewski explained that the Polish airspace monitoring systems tracked the target for an extended period of time. 

Throughout the time it was in Polish airspace, both standby aircraft and helicopters were airborne to conduct the final identification of the target.

"This identification was supposed to occur before a decision was made to destroy the target... However, this final identification did not take place due to weather conditions," he stated without specifying what conditions hindered the interception.

The target crossed the border at 06:43 and remained over Poland for 33 minutes before disappearing from radar. 

"Records from our radio stations, including flight altitude, speed, and trajectory, indicate that it was an unmanned aerial vehicle… because we rule out the possibility that it was a missile or some guided missile, considering the speed," Goryszewski said.

The target disappeared from radar at around 07:16 over the Tyszowce gmina, where a search zone was established. 

"It can be assumed that either it fell somewhere or its flight altitude was at a level where our radar systems could no longer [track it]. It [the target] could just as easily have turned around and descended to an altitude where it was no longer visible to our radar systems," the lieutenant colonel remarked.

The decision on whether to shoot down the target was made with the involvement of the Ministry of National Defence leadership.

"So far, there are no reports of any damage on the ground. We do not have such information; we haven’t received it. We are in contact with local authorities, the police as well as services working on the ground, and none of the residents have reported or observed any anomalies. Therefore, we are not sure if anything could have fallen at this point. There is also a densely forested area, so it could have happened there," Goryszewski emphasised.

"This target could have also returned to Ukrainian territory, so we must explore every possibility to ensure that its potential presence does not pose a threat to local residents," he noted.

Background:

• The Polish army reported a violation of Poland’s airspace during Russia’s missile and drone attack against Ukraine on the morning of 26 August.
• Maciej Klisz, Commander of the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces, said the aerial object that flew in from Ukraine was not shot down because of atmospheric conditions.

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