Warsaw, Sep 20 (IANS) Polish and allied aircraft were deployed early on Saturday to safeguard Poland’s airspace during Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian targets near the Polish border, said the Polish Armed Forces Operational Command.
On-duty fighter pairs have been scrambled, and air defence and radar systems have been put on high alert, the command said on social media X, adding that Polish forces remain on standby for immediate action.
At around 7 a.m. local time, it said that the operations were concluded and the ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems that were activated have returned to normal.
Stressing that the operations were preventive and aimed at securing the Polish airspace, the command said it will continue to monitor the situation in Ukraine and remains in constant readiness to ensure Poland’s security, reports Xinhua news agency.
Earlier, on September 18, the US State Department approved a sale of Javelin missile systems worth about 780 million US dollars to Poland, days after an alleged Russian drone incursion into Poland’s airspace, alerting NATO members, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said.
The agency said it has notified Congress of the proposed sale, which includes 2,506 FGM-148F Javelin missiles and 253 lightweight command launch units.
The package also covers training, simulation rounds, spares, tool kits, battery coolant units, transportation and technical assistance from both the US government and contractors, according to the statement.
The DSCA said the sale aims to enhance Poland’s ability to meet NATO requirements and defend its territory by upgrading older command launch systems and expanding its missile inventory.
According to principal contractors, Javelin weapons systems is the world’s premier shoulder-fired anti-armour system. With its soft launch design, Javelin can be safely fired from inside buildings or bunkers.
The Polish military shot down drones that “repeatedly violated” Poland’s airspace last week. In response, US President Donald Trump said that the alleged Russian drone incursion “could have been a mistake.”
“We would also wish that the drone attack on Poland was a mistake. But it wasn’t. And we know it,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on social media, dismissing Trump’s suggestion.
Russia has rejected the accusation made by Poland, the EU and NATO that it launched the drones. A number of European leaders accused Russia of carrying out a deliberate drone incursion to test the readiness of NATO.
–IANS
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