Following the Russian drone incursion in Poland, a RNLAF F-35A has received a drone kill marking below the canopy rail.
A Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) F-35A of the 313th Squadron has received a drone kill marking after shooting down one of the Russian drones which entered Polish airspace in the night between Sept. 9 and 10, 2025. The photo was published by the Dutch Ministry of Defense on its website.
The text accompanying the image mentioned that the RNLAF F-35 detachment will stay in Poland from Sept. 1 to Dec. 1 as part of the NATO mission. Additionally, the text confirmed once again that the F-35s opened fire against the Russian drones.
The kill marking has been applied just below the canopy rail, showing a Shahed-type drone shape. Although not exactly the same, the shape is pretty similar to the Gerbera drones that were recovered on the ground.
The Incursion
Multiple Russian drones violated Polish airspace in the night between Sep. 9 and 10, 2025, during Moscow’s large-scale strike on Ukraine. According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a “huge number” of Russian drones crossed into Polish skies during the assault, which targeted several Ukrainian regions.
At least eight Shahed-type drones crossed into Poland’s direction, penetrating Polish airspace, with Tusk saying 19 violations were recorded. Airports across Poland were temporarily closed, including Warsaw’s Chopin and Modlin airports, as well as Rzeszów-Jasionka — a major logistics hub for military aid to Ukraine — and Lublin Airport.
The Reaction
Multiple assets were launched to counter the airspace violation, including Polish F-16s and Dutch F-35s. The latter are currently deployed to Poznan Krzesiny airbase for NATO’s Air Policing mission.
The unprecedented incident marks the first time that Russian assets have been destroyed over NATO territory since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to Tusk, the drones posing an immediate threat were neutralized by fighter jets, with no casualties reported.
According to Defense News, quoting official sources, three drones were shot down by NATO aircraft, while at least eight others crashed inside Poland. Fortunately, there were no casualties, although debris was recovered in several locations.
The Netherlands later confirmed that the F-35s were used to shoot down some of the drones, without specifying the number. With the kill marking appeared in the new photo, we can now say that at least one drone was shot down by an F-35, with the second (NATO fighters in Quick Reaction Alert duty always fly in pairs) possibly shooting down more.
