Polish F-16s faced system failure during Russian missile breach

Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported that the Link 16 data-sharing system was non-functional aboard the two Polish F-16s on alert when a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile crossed into Polish airspace on July 30, forcing the pilots to coordinate by radio instead. At the moment of the breach, one jet was mid-air refueling and the other was investigating what turned out to be a Ukrainian MiG-29 that had likely tried and failed to shoot down the missile before it crossed the border. Gen. Ireneusz Nowak confirmed the second jet had been ordered to intercept an object that turned out to be the Ukrainian aircraft, not the missile itself.

The missile itself struck Lublin Voivodeship, where Polish police found a crater and debris, and Polish prosecutors later traced its manufacture to a Russian facility in the second quarter of 2026. Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed the object was likely the Kh-101.

Rzeczpospolita notes the sequence of events undercuts prior official statements that the Polish military stood ready at any moment to shoot down the missile.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.