Swedish Air Force Gripen fighters supported Polish air defense operations during a large Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight on October 6-7, 2026, according to Poland’s Operational Command of the Armed Forces (DORSZ).
In a statement posted on X at 06:28 local time on October 7, DORSZ said military aviation operations launched in response to the Russian strikes had ended and that it had recorded no violation of Polish airspace. The command thanked the Swedish Air Force for helping secure Polish airspace.
NOTAMs are again active for Lublin and Rzeszow, closing airpsace for "UNPLANNED MILITARY ACTIVITY RELATED TO ENSURING STATE SECURITY" in response to Russian strikes on Ukraine. https://t.co/TLFCQcTWLG
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 7, 2026
Gripens deployed to NATO’s eastern flank
Sweden announced on September 30, 2026, that Gripen fighters would deploy in support of NATO’s integrated air and missile defense in Poland from October.
The aircraft are primarily based in Sweden, with a smaller forward presence in Poland, and are also tasked with protecting the Rzeszów-Jasionka logistics hub that channels military and civilian aid to Ukraine.
The Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces previously confirmed to AeroTime that Poland’s new positive-identification procedures also apply to allied aircraft assigned to protect its airspace.
The procedures allow air defense forces to act on positive identification without necessarily requiring prior visual identification of a target.
Sweden is also sending a Patriot air defense unit of around 100 personnel to Poland from December, with the mission expected to extend into the first half of 2027.
Russia launches major overnight attack
The moment a missile struck a residential building in Pryluky, Chernihiv region. Five civilians were killed and 20 injured, according to local authorities. Rescue efforts are ongoing. Video: Telegram channels https://t.co/WR5dXbxegq
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) October 7, 2026
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 48 cruise missiles and 130 attack drones from 18:00 Kyiv time on October 6, 2026, along with ballistic and anti-ship missiles.
By 09:00 on October 7, 2026, Ukraine said it had shot down or suppressed 161 targets, including five ballistic missiles, 39 cruise missiles and 117 drones. The main targets were in the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions.