Following a Russian strategic missile to Poland, a Belarusian balloon flew halfway across the country and was not found
The Polish air defence system lost another object that entered Polish airspace. It was a balloon coming from neighbouring Belarus.
Here's What We Know
The balloon may be used for surveillance. This was reported by the command of the Polish Air Operations Centre. The balloon was detected by radars, but they lost contact with it near Rypin, which is about 300 km from the Polish-Belarusian border.
Dowódca Operacyjny podjął decyzję o uruchomieniu dyżurnych sił Wojsk Obrony Terytorialnej do poszukiwania obiektu.
- Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej ???????? (@MON_GOV_PL) May 13, 2023
The search for the aircraft is now being carried out by the territorial defence forces. In general, the appearance of the Belarusian balloon over Poland cannot be called a critical situation. For example, earlier this year a Chinese spy balloon (pictured below) flew over the US for several days before it was shot down by an F-22 with an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.
On the other hand, this came against the backdrop of a scandal brewing in Poland over the downing of a Russian strategic aviation missile. It fell in a forest 450km from the Polish-Ukrainian border.
Meanwhile, Polish air defence forces received information about the missile from Ukraine, saw it on radars, but lost sight of it and let it fly more than halfway across the country. The name of the missile is not officially specified, but probably it is Kh-55 (according to NATO codification - AS-15 Kent).
Source: @MON_GOV_PL
