Six NATO countries border Russia. Almost daily, they report violations: disrupted GPS signals; planes that have strayed into NATO territory; drones that collect information.
When such a flying object is spotted, an alarm is triggered. Fighter pilots quickly put on their suits and jump into their planes. This can be seen at the air base in Lithuania. And something similar most likely happened on Wednesday night in Poland, when it suddenly turned out that nearly 20 drones had invaded Polish airspace.
De-escalation does not work with Russian drones
When an unauthorized aircraft enters airspace, de-escalation is usually resorted to and an attempt is made to get the pilots to withdraw the drones. In the case of the Russian drones, however, this did not work: for the first time, three aircraft were shot down. This was also a joint NATO operation, as pointed out by the Alliance's Secretary General Mark Rutte. In addition to the Polish ones, Dutch and Italian fighter jets also participated in the operation.
NATO constantly offers visits to joint bases, one of the goals of which is to demonstrate cooperation within the defense alliance. Since the Baltic states, for example, do not have their own air defenses, other NATO countries take over the airspace protection at certain intervals. And in Poland - at the time of the Russian drone invasion - five German Eurofighter fighter jets were stationed to respond immediately in the event of an alarm. It is not for nothing that they are called "air police".
NATO expands presence due to the war in Ukraine
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, NATO has significantly expanded its presence on the eastern border. International combat units are stationed in eight countries and regularly conduct emergency exercises. NATO's rapid reaction force, which must be ready for action within two to seven days, has been relocated to Romania. Germany is sending its brigade to Lithuania - the first soldiers are already stationed there, but it is expected to reach full scale by the end of 2027.
In fact, just last year, 90,000 NATO soldiers conducted an exercise to prepare for a possible Russian attack on a NATO member. Who will come to the rescue first? Where will the reinforcements come from? The US plays a crucial role in this. They have deployed nearly 80,000 troops in Europe.
Poland triggers Article 4
This case of allied assistance has not yet occurred - under Article 5. It has only been declared once in NATO's history: exactly 24 years ago, when planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.
Now Poland is triggering Article 4 - after Russian drones entered its airspace. According to Article 4, a country that feels threatened can trigger the consultation procedure. After consultations of the 32 NATO representatives, the Alliance's Secretary General Rutte stressed: "One thing is clear: this incident is not an isolated incident. Our Supreme Allied Commander will continue to provide deterrence along the entire eastern border. Allies are determined to defend every inch of NATO territory."
Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have called on NATO members to spend even more on their defense. Poland is a good example of this: the country already invests 4.5% of its economic power in defense. This is more than any other NATO country.
Author: Sabrina Fritz (ARD)