Despite NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s celebration over the alliance’s response to the recent drone incursion over Poland, The New York Sun’s James Brooke highlights the heavy cost NATO paid to shoot down a few drones. Ukraine, meanwhile, is shooting down multiple of the same types of drones each day. Brooke writes:

As the dust has settled from the flight by Russian drones, it is clear that the aircraft were sent to probe Polish air defenses and response times. All the drones were apparently unarmed, designed for reconnaissance. Although the damage was minimal, unsettling truths have emerged.

“Our air defenses were activated and successfully ensured the defense of NATO territory, as they are designed to do,” NATO’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, crowed. However, in reality, Poland and NATO failed the test. North Atlantic Treaty Organization assets shot down four drones, a 17 percent kill rate.

On the same pre-dawn morning, Wednesday, Ukraine shot down 93 percent of 415 Russian drones fired at Ukraine. Yesterday morning, Ukraine shot down 94 percent of 66 Russian drones fired at Ukraine. Yesterday, President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to teach Poles how to shoot down drones.

To defend Polish airspace, North Atlantic allies put about $1 billion worth of military equipment in the air: Polish F-16 fighter jets, Dutch F-35s, Italian AWACS surveillance planes, and NATO mid-air refuelling aircraft. NATO used $1 million missiles to shoot down $10,000 Gerbera drones. Made of plywood, styrofoam, and over-the-counter parts, these Communist Chinese-designed drones are largely used by Russia for reconnaissance or as decoys for bigger drones carrying bombs.

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