Russian troops confront NATO head-on: Blitzkrieg Poland, F-35 takes off, and multiple Russian aircraft over Poland explode

Text|Shen Yanyun

The article was originally published by Shen Yanluntou, please do not copy and reprint

The news that Russian drone raided Polish airspace late at night triggered global public opinion in the early morning of September 10.

When residents of Warsaw were awakened by air defense alarms, the country that had witnessed the outbreak of World War II was experiencing the most tense military standoff since the end of the Cold War. The Polish military announced the shooting down of several invading drones, and the fighter jets of many NATO countries were launched in an emergency.

This seemingly local friction actually tear opens the dangerous cracks of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

At 2:17 am, a radar station on the eastern border of Poland captured an abnormal signal. 11 Russian-made geranium series drones were crossing the Warren border in neat formation, with the target pointing directly to Rhoshuf.

These metal monsters with wingspans exceeding 3 meters have drawn strange tracks in the moonlight, and three of them even flew over the Rhosov-Yasionka Airport, which is only 50 kilometers away from the Ukrainian border.

This core hub of NATO aid supplies was brightly lit that night, and the mountains of M1A1 tank parts and Himas rocket launcher ammunition were clearly visible under the searchlight.

Polish air defense forces responded on the 8th minute of the alarm. The Patriot air defense system deployed in Lublin Province was the first to lock in the target, and two interceptor missiles dragged their tail flames toward the altitude.

Almost at the same time, the Dutch Air Force's F-35A fighter stationed at the Marburg base climbed vertically, and the AIM-120 medium-range missile under the belly locked the drone group 20 kilometers away. Satellite images showed that at least five Russian drones were shot down in the forest area in eastern Poland, and the burning wreckage reflected the pine forest in red.

This air confrontation exposed the fatal weakness of NATO's defense system. Although the F-35 fighter is equipped with the latest AN/APG-81 active phased array radar, the Russian drone has always maintained an ultra-low altitude flight below 20 meters.

A spokesman for the Polish Air Force admitted that some drones only had 30 seconds of early warning time before shooting down. What is even more shocking is that the air defense radar at Rzeshuf Airport was temporarily invalid 15 minutes before the attack, which laid a major doubt for the subsequent investigation.

NATO's rapid response mechanism endured severe tests in this incident. The German standing-wave Typhoon fighter squadron completed combat readiness conversion within 48 hours, and the Spanish A330 tanker took off from the local area to implement cross-domain fuel supply.

U.S. European Command urgently dispatched two RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft to cruise along the Baltic Sea, while electronic warfare forces imposed electromagnetic suppression on the Belarus border. This multi-national defensive situation set the fastest response record for NATO's eastern wing military deployment since the end of the Cold War.

Behind the incident was Russia's precise strike on NATO's aid to Ukraine. The Rzeshuf hub handles more than 2,000 TEUs of arms transport per month, of which 70% go directly to the front line via railways.

The Russian army chose to carry out a cross-border raid at the same time when Ukraine launched an air strike on Khmelniksky Prefecture, which was obviously to create the effect of "surrounding Wei and saving Zhao".

It is worth noting that the Russian army launched a total of 95 drones that day, of which 84 were targeting military airports in western Ukraine. This tactic of "speaking east and attacking west" made NATO air defense system difficult to deal with.

Poland's tough response triggered a chain reaction. Prime Minister Tusk signed a presidential decree five hours after the incident, announcing the upgrade of the national combat readiness level to a "yellow" warning. The sudden appearance of armored personnel carriers on the streets of Warsaw made citizens panic, and the cans on supermarket shelves were sold out within 24 hours.

More subtle is the change in Poland's attitude towards Ukrainian military aid. The 18 sets of "Neptune" anti-ship missile systems originally planned to be delivered were urgently stopped, and instead strengthened the construction of local air defense networks.

History is always surprisingly similar. Before Germany invaded Poland in 1939, it also created many border friction incidents. Now the Russian drone group crossed NATO airspace is exactly the same as the tactical logic of the "Glevitz incident" back then.

But the transparency of modern warfare is no longer the same. Civil satellites released the drone flight trajectory diagram two hours after the incident, and the explosion video circulating on social media was forwarded millions of times. This speed of information dissemination puts any military adventure under greater public opinion pressure.

The incident had a direct impact on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield. The Ukrainian Air Force announced the suspension of drone harassment on Crimea the next day, and instead dispatched all S-300 air defense systems to strengthen the defense of the western border.

The Russian army took the opportunity to expand the range of the Ukrainian supply line, and the railway hub in the direction of Zaporoze was attacked for three consecutive days. This "attack instead of defense" strategy reveals that both sides are using emergencies to adjust the rhythm of the battlefield.

The Russian army's strategic intentions for this operation have gradually become clear. By creating a "scratch gun and fire" incident, it not only tested the response speed of NATO's eastern wing, but also gained bargaining chips for subsequent negotiations.

At the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, the flight log presented by the Russian representative showed that the takeoff point of the drone involved was located 30 kilometers in Belarus, which was in line with the buffer zone designated by the International Aviation Convention. This carefully designed "gray zone" tactic makes it difficult for NATO to find a legal basis for direct counterattack.

International observers noticed that drone technology showed a subversive effect in this crisis. The "Geranium-3" drone used by the Russian army has a battery life of 9 hours and can carry 150 kilograms of load. Its anti-interference ability caught NATO electronic warfare forces off guard.

In contrast, NATO, although the F-35 fighter has demonstrated its stealth advantage, still relies on traditional air defense methods when dealing with clustered drone attacks. This technological generation difference may change the form of future warfare.

NATO's response strategy is changing. Germany proposes to establish a "UAV Hunter" wing to specifically intercept cross-border drones; the United States accelerates the delivery of the "Switchblade-600" cruise missile to Ukraine, trying to establish an asymmetric advantage.

But military experts pointed out that these measures are not the root cause. The Russian army's newly built drone production base in the Arctic Circle can produce more than 2,000 drones of various types per month. NATO's defense speed is difficult to keep up with its capacity expansion.

The chain reaction caused by the incident is still continuing. The Polish parliament passed an emergency bill to allow foreign troops to use domestic military bases. Lithuania announced the restart of the "Owl" underground command system built during the Soviet period.

In this modern version of the "Cuban Missile Crisis", China has always advocated resolving disputes through dialogue. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out: "Any military action should abide by international law and basic norms of international relations, and avoid taking actions that lead to escalation of the situation."

This statement was responded to by most developing countries, and the African Union immediately announced that it would hold a peace forum attended by Russia and Ukraine.

People are witnesses of history, but they have not learned from it. When the runway of Rzeshuf Airport opened again, the world was already standing on a new dangerous threshold. There were no winners here, only a community with a shared future for mankind that shared the consequences.

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