It has emerged that the damage to a house roof during the Russian drone incursion into Poland was likely caused by a faulty F-16 fighter jet missile rather than a drone.

Source: Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, citing sources, as reported by European Pravda

Details: A roof was destroyed in the village of Wyrki in Lublin Voivodeship during an unprecedented Russian drone incursion into Poland on Tuesday 10 September. The Polish prosecutor’s office has so far described the cause only as “unidentified object”, as the defence ministry offered no explanation.

The damage was most likely caused not by a downed Shahed drone but by an F-16 air-to-air missile, about three metres long and weighing over 150 kg, after its guidance system malfunctioned, Rzeczpospolita reports.

The destruction could have been much worse, but the missile did not switch to combat mode or detonate thanks to its safety mechanisms, the source said.

Investigators have established what happened, though the findings have not been released to the public.

The mayor of Wyrki has said the cost of repairing the destroyed roof is around PLN 50,000 (about US$14,000). The owners have been offered temporary alternative housing.

This has been the only case of damage during the first mass incursion of Russian drones into Poland on Tuesday 10 September, when around 20 drones crossed from Ukraine and Belarus. Wreckage from downed drones has been found in different parts of the country, and some UAVs penetrated nearly 300 km from the eastern border.

Background: Against this backdrop, the North Atlantic Alliance decided to launch an operation called Eastern Sentry to strengthen its eastern flank.

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