Unauthorized drone detected near the American base in Redzikowo

On September 15, in the afternoon, reconnaissance systems detected an unauthorized drone near the American missile defense base in Redzikowo. According to information obtained by Onet from the Ministry of National Defense, the unmanned aircraft's flight lasted about five minutes and took place half a kilometer from the base.

The base in Redzikowo is a strategic facility, protected by both US soldiers and a special unit of the Polish Army. As Onet points out, the main burden of ensuring the safety of the installation rests with Poland.

Call 112 instead of immediate response

As we read in the text by Edyta Żemła and Marcin Wyrwal, instead of immediately neutralizing the threat, the army decided to report the incident to the emergency number 112. The police and other relevant services were also notified about the case.

However, the Ministry of National Defense does not disclose whether any neutralization measures were used against the drone or whether available anti-drone systems were used. The ministry explains it for security reasons and does not provide details about the security and electronic warfare systems in Redzikowo.

Drones – a growing threat to critical infrastructure

Experts have been warning for years that the threat from drones is one of the most serious problems related to the protection of critical infrastructure. Unmanned aerial vehicles are used for reconnaissance, surveillance, target designation, and attacks.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the importance of drones on the battlefield has increased rapidly, and the Redzikowo incident shows that even the best protected land facilities can be vulnerable to air attack if they do not have effective countermeasure systems.