Nato is in talks about new rules ‘that will make it easier to shoot down Russian drones’

NATO is considering new air combat rules that would make it much easier for pilots to shoot down Russian warplanes amid rising tensions with Moscow.

Defense chiefs are in talks over a single, unified rulebook for engaging enemy aircraft, in a move that could allow Russian warplanes carrying ground-attack attack missiles over allied territory to be considered legitimate targets.

A plane’s ‘weaponry and trajectory’ will determine whether it poses a threat, according to a source with knowledge of the closed-door talks.

The proposals are expected to be discussed by defense ministers at a NATO meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, as European allies become increasingly concerned about aggressive Russian flights and drone attacks near their borders.

NATO leaders, including Donald Trump, expressed their support for taking tougher measures against Russian planes that violate the alliance’s airspace.

But many member states are wary that such a move could risk direct confrontation with the Kremlin.

Sources say NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, has privately pushed for a ‘unified, single air and missile defense system’ to facilitate the alliance’s response to potential Russian provocations.

The proposal would scrap so-called ‘national alerts’, different national rules that determine how each country’s pilots can deal with threats, and give NATO’s top general more freedom to respond decisively.

Four of 19 Russian drones were shot down by Polish and NATO aircraft; Kremlin drones were first shot down in September 2025 while flying over NATO territory.

Member states currently operate under a wide range of rules of engagement.

Some require pilots to visually verify targets before opening fire, while others allow action based solely on radar data.

The inconsistencies have led to behind-the-scenes debate about what conditions might justify shooting down a Russian jet over NATO territory.

Last month the alliance was forced to hold two emergency Article 4 meetings following Russian attacks on Estonia and Poland.

In one incident, three Russian MG fighter jets entered Estonian airspace, prompting Italian F-35s to respond.

Russian planes were ordered to leave and escorted into international airspace in what insiders described as a ‘textbook’ response.

General Grynkewich decided not to allow gunfire after intelligence reports showed that the MiGs were armed only with air-to-air missiles and made no attempt to target NATO fighters.

But NATO officials have discussed scenarios in which such aircraft could be shot down, for example, if they were carrying air-to-ground weapons or were following an aggressive flight path.

Another challenge facing General Grynkewich is the overlap of air defense operations currently active on NATO’s eastern flank.

The three separate missions — Eastern Sentinel, launched after Russia’s drone intrusions over Poland, Baltic Sentinel, operating since January, and the alliance’s Ukrainian training mission — all have their own air defense components.

Dozens of NATO countries contribute to these missions, and each has its own rules of engagement.

A senior diplomat described the regulation as a bureaucratic ‘headache’ for the Commander-in-Chief.

It is said that Germany, Spain and Italy are among the more cautious countries in the alliance, although they play an important role in these operations.

Parts of the discovered drone are seen in the village of Mniszkow in central Poland, where one of the Russian drones that violated Polish airspace was discovered on September 10, 2025.

An F-16 fighter jet of the Norwegian Air Force (file image). NATO sends jets to eastern flank after Russia’s attack on Ukraine

“It makes sense to try to create a more unified, single, integrated air and missile defense system, and in order to do that it needs to get rid of as many national alerts as possible,” a senior NATO diplomat said. Telegram.

‘We all need to look sharply and critically at whether these warnings still make sense.’

Defense ministers will also consider combining three air defense missions to give General Grynkewich greater operational flexibility.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the plans would ‘further strengthen our deterrence and defense posture, including in light of recent events’.

Estonia, supported by other Baltic states, is leading calls for NATO’s existing air police missions to be upgraded to full air defense operations.

But some countries are pushing back, arguing that such a move should be left to wartime circumstances because it would involve closing civilian airspace and allowing the shooting down of any Russian jet that enters without warning.

Raimond Kaljulaid, who heads Estonia’s delegation to the NATO parliamentary assembly, rejected this cautious approach.

If force is used only when there is a direct military threat, that is a sign of weakness, because ‘you are essentially saying that under certain circumstances, violations of our airspace will have no consequences,’ he said.

‘Instead, our public stance should be that we have the right to respond as we see fit, and Russia should know that perhaps next time our response will be something else,’ he added.

‘The idea that our response depends on how the Russians behave (threatening or not) could also basically mean that you can take a tank across the border if it doesn’t pose an immediate threat. Of course this is ridiculous. ‘We either have boundaries or we don’t.’

According to the Danish military, in June alone, NATO aircraft, including F-35s and F-16s, were deployed 29 times to disrupt Russian activities over the Baltic Sea.

Meanwhile, it appears that Moscow has accelerated its preparations for war.

The new Russian law, expected to pass parliament this week, will allow up to two million reservists to be mobilized to fight in Ukraine even in peacetime.

F-35 jets lined up on the flight deck of HMS Prince of Wales (file image)

The change eliminates the need to declare martial law and spares the Kremlin from another unpopular mobilization drive in September 2022 that sent tens of thousands of men fleeing the country.

Meanwhile, Britain is increasing its support to Ukraine.

Defense Secretary John Healey will tell NATO allies in Brussels that Britain has delivered 85,000 drones this year and expects to exceed the target of 100,000.

He will announce that London is investing £600 million to speed up drone production and delivery to Kiev, and will call on allies to ‘increase drone production to outpace Putin’s escalation’.

Mr Healey will also confirm that RAF Typhoons will continue to fly as part of NATO’s Eastern Sentinel mission for at least the remainder of the year.