All the normal ROE concerns with BVR would be out the window with a strategic operation directed from the NCA level.

Also if you're targeting a high supersonic bogey, well that rules out the civilian traffic anyway.

Collateral damage would be a risk, would need the local government to approve obviously. They might well accept the risk, given the existential threat RU poses to them.

F-22's don't accidentally go anywhere they're not supposed to go on an op like this. It would be the varsity squad on a real world combat op, not two nuggets screwing around on a range in NV.

Fog of war would not apply, they would be functioning as pure predators executing a scripted ambush, with strict go/no-go gates. If the stars don't line up, try again next week.

​​​​​The three Russian MiG-31 jets that violated Estonia's airspace on Friday were by no means the first. Since 2014, Russian military aircraft have breached Estonian airspace more than 40 times, data from the Estonian Air Force shows.

The breaches have been recorded since NATO expanded its rotational Baltic Air Policing Mission to Estonia in 2014 following Russia's invasion of Crimea. Until then, allied jets were only stationed in Lithuania.

While all three Baltic states have air forces, they lack fighter jets. The NATO mission secures the region's airspace.

Incursions in Estonia's airspace peaked in 2016 at 10 and have been five or below since 2019. There were no violations reported in 2023 or 2024.

However, NATO jets are still regularly scrambled to monitor Russian jets flying close to the alliance's airspace
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SEPTEMBER 22, 2025 3:31 PM CET
BY WOJCIECH KOŚĆWARSAW — Poland will shoot down enemy aircraft if they violate its territory, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Monday.

“I want to be very clear. We will make a decision to shoot down flying objects without discussion when they violate our territory and fly over Poland. There is no room for debate here,” Tusk told a press conference.

Tusk’s made his comments in the wake of a series of incidents in which Russian drones or warplanes entered the airspace of Poland, Romaniaand, last Friday, Estonia, when three Russian MiG-31 jets remained in the NATO member state’s airspace for nearly 12 minutes before the alliance scrambled jets in response.

The Polish leader added he wants to have "100 percent certainty" that Poland's NATO allies will view any incursion in the same way, so that "if the conflict enters a very acute phase, we will not be alone."

The incidents heightened security concerns along NATO’s eastern flank, triggering calls for increased vigilance against Russian provocations.

Following the incursion of 21 Russian drones into Poland earlier this month, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte announced the launch of the Eastern Sentry mission to bolster air defenses.

Poland is also considering more effective ways of neutralizing potential Russian incursions instead of scrambling fighter jets and using expensive missiles to target cheap drones.

Tusk said that in more ambiguous situations — such as recent overflights of Russian fighter jets above Poland's Petrobaltic drilling platform in the Baltic Sea outside Poland’s territorial waters — any decision to react will need to be made very carefully.

"You need to think twice before deciding on actions that could trigger a very acute phase of the conflict," he said.

Copenhagen airport was closed on Monday after unidentified drones were observed nearby, causing around 15 flights to be diverted, police and airport officials told AFP.

"The airspace over Copenhagen airport has been closed since 8:30 pm (1830 GMT) due to two to three unidentified drones. No aircraft can take off or land," airport spokeswoman Lise Agerley Kurstein said.

She said around 15 flights had been diverted to other airports.

Copenhagen police meanwhile said "three or four big drones" had been observed flying over the airport.

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"
"They are still flying back and forth, coming and going," duty officer Anette Ostenfeldt told AFP at 10:45 pm (2045 GMT), adding that police were at the airport investigating.

She could not say if the drones were military or civilian devices.

"But they are bigger than what you as a private individual can buy," Ostenfeldt said.

Airport officials said the airport would remain closed until the situation was resolved.

"We currently have no timeline for reopening," Kurstein said.


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​​SEPTEMBER 26, 2025 5:38 PM CET
BY VERONIKA MELKOZEROVAKYIV — Reconnaissance drones from Hungary crossed into Ukraine, the government in Kyiv said Friday.

“The commander in chief reported on recent drone incidents along the Ukrainian-Hungarian border. Ukrainian forces recorded violations of our airspace by reconnaissance drones, which are likely Hungarian,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement after a government meeting.

“Preliminary assessments suggest they may have been conducting reconnaissance on the industrial potential of Ukraine’s border areas. I instructed that all available information be verified and that urgent reports be made on each recorded incident," Zelenskyy added, providing no further details.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó hit back in a post on X: "President Zelenskyy is losing his mind to his anti-Hungarian obsession. He's now starting to see things that aren't there."

Ukrainian-Hungarian relations have deteriorated in recent months, as Budapest persists in blocking Ukraine’s EU accession. Last month, Kyiv’s forces started bombing the Druzhba oil pipeline, which fuels Budapest with Russian energy.

In response, Hungary banned Robert Brovdi — a key Ukrainian commander — from entering the country. Ukraine responded by imposing an entry ban on three high-ranking Hungarian military officials.

“Our mirror response to Hungary’s earlier baseless entry ban for our military officials. Hungary’s every act of disrespect will be met with adequate response, especially disrespect for our military,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Friday.

Szijjarto responded by saying Ukraine has “carried out an anti-Hungarian policy for a decade.”

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