The Russian drone Poland incident has raised security concerns after officials confirmed that a Gerbera-2 recovered from the Baltic Sea carried an explosive warhead.
Polish authorities found the drone Monday near the beach at Rusinowo, close to Jarosławiec in northwestern Poland. The military recovered it from the water and secured the aircraft for examination.
Military affairs prosecutor Bartosz Okoniewski said investigators confirmed that the drone carried a warhead and detonator.
He said authorities safely neutralized the warhead after recovering the aircraft.
The drone will now undergo further examination. Investigators want to establish its technical details, origin and intended mission.
Gerbera-2 Drone Under Investigation
The Gerbera-2 is a Russian-made unmanned aircraft that can serve as a decoy. However, the model can also carry explosives.
Polish officials initially said the drone appeared to have come from Russia. Authorities have not yet established exactly where it launched or what target it may have been heading toward.
Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz previously said the military believed the drone might have been lost during Russian activity over the Baltic Sea.
Officials are now examining the aircraft to determine what happened before it reached the Polish coast.
Poland Investigates Possible Threat
The military affairs department of the district prosecutor’s office in Szczecin has opened an investigation.
Prosecutors are examining a suspected offense involving an incident that could endanger the lives or health of many people or cause major property damage.
The investigation will also look at how the drone reached Polish waters.
For now, officials have not publicly identified its intended target.
Rising Drone Concerns Around NATO
The discovery comes during a tense period for NATO’s eastern flank.
Poland borders Ukraine and Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave. The country has also dealt with previous drone incidents since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In recent days, Poland has reported other security incidents near its border with Ukraine. Polish authorities have also strengthened protection around border crossings following Russian strikes near the frontier.
Meanwhile, NATO aircraft shot down a suspected Russian-made Gerbera drone after it entered Lithuanian airspace. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the drone may have been heading toward Ukraine before electronic warfare caused it to deviate from its course.
Investigation Continues
The armed drone found near Rusinowo has now become part of a wider investigation into drone activity around the Baltic region.
Polish authorities have secured the aircraft and neutralized its warhead. Experts will examine the remaining components for additional evidence.
At this stage, officials have not established the drone’s exact launch point or mission.
The investigation will determine whether the aircraft simply drifted off course or entered Polish waters as part of a specific operation.
