| Date | 23 Sep 2026 |
| Tracker | European Airspace Violations |
| Type | Incursion |
| Location |
Braniewo, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland
54.38, 19.82 (approximate) |
A Russian Mi-8 military helicopter flying from the Kaliningrad exclave entered Polish airspace near Braniewo, in the Warmian-Masurian region, at 11:08 on 23 September 2026, according to Poland's Operational Command of the Armed Forces. The command said the helicopter penetrated about 300 metres and stayed for roughly 42 seconds, tracked by radar throughout, while fighter jets were scrambled and ground units put on standby. It said the nature of the incident indicated that Russia was once again testing the readiness of Polish air defences. Russia did not comment.
| Date | Type | Incident |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Sep 2026 | Incursion | Drones cross Moldovan airspace at Caplani before leaving towards Ukraine |
| 21 Sep 2026 | Incursion | Drones cross northern Moldova overnight and clip Palanca at midday |
| 24 Sep 2026 | Strike | Russian Gerbera drone crashes and explodes at Cernița as four drones cross northern Moldova |
| 24 Sep 2026 | Strike | Drone enters Romania over northern Botoșani and crashes near Solca after four minutes |
GlobalMilitary.net's 2026 inventory snapshot shows nine NATO members — Iceland, Luxembourg, the three Baltic states, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia and Slovenia — hold no fixed-wing fighters, attack aircraft or bombers and depend on Allied air policing.
GlobalMilitary.net's incident log counts 45 established violations of European airspace between January 1 and August 16, 2026, against 31 for the whole of 2025 - and almost all of the growth sits in incidents that ended with a shootdown or an explosion on the ground.
An Italian Eurofighter on NATO Baltic Air Policing duty destroyed an unidentified drone over eastern Latvia before dawn on 14 August, the second time the alliance's quick-reaction force has shot one down over the country this year.