After Polish and Dutch fighter jets shot down armed Russian drones over Poland — the first time ever that "NATO aircraft have engaged potential threats in allied airspace," as the alliance's military headquarters ambiguously notes — there was broad condemnation of the Kremlin and support for Poland from NATO leaders.

"Unacceptable," fumed Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof, whose F-35s had just downed some of the intruders.

"Intolerable," insisted French President Emmanuel Macron.

"Reckless," added German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

But the response from US President Donald Trump has been less unequivocal.

Where's Washington?

While his ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, wrote on X almost immediately after the incident that the United States stands with its allies against "airspace violations and will defend every inch of NATO territory," Trump’s first reaction was a cryptic Truth Social post: "What's with Russia violating Poland's airspace with drones? Here we go!"

A day later, Trump responded to a reporter’s question that the incursion "could've been a mistake" but that he was nonetheless "not happy about it" and that he would condemn Russia “even for being near that line."

The assassination of one of Trump's political allies, Charlie Kirk, just hours after the incident in Poland understandably preoccupied the president. Still, the lack of sharp criticism of the Kremlin or a reinforcement of support for Poland has left allies wondering whether any is forthcoming.

Among those most eagerly awaiting is surely Polish President Karel Nawrocki, who said he'd spoken by phone with Trump soon after the incursion. "Today's talks confirmed allied unity," Nawrocki wrote on X Thursday. Trump's own social media feed contained no mention of the situation.

Drones' real target: Allied division

Which actually says a lot, concludes Jan Techau, Europe editor for the Eurasia Group. "This silence is what tells the Europeans the chilling story that they kind of knew before: that the US is no longer naturally and unconditionally there," he told DW. "It feeds into the existing doubts about the US commitment to Article 5," NATO's fundamental commitment to collectively defend any ally that comes under attack.

"This is precisely what Putin had in mind when he ordered the drone incursion into Poland," Techau said: to "feed those doubts, increase fear levels, driving the wedge deeper between the US and Europe." Techau doubts that almost 20 unmanned aerial vehicles could have accidentally strayed into Polish airspace.

Michał Kobosko, a Polish member of the European Parliament, said the incursion was a probe by the Kremlin, not just of Europe but of the US response, as well. "Day by day, they are testing our ability to defend ourselves," he told DW at the European Parliament session in Strasbourg. “So this is like a red alert sent to all of us in Europe, not only the eastern flank, not only Poland, Baltic States, Romania or Finland: The whole of Europe is under direct attack. And we must face it, we must understand it, and we must adapt by doing much more to prepare us to be able to defend ourselves, with or without Americans."

Poland very much hopes that will be "with Americans." Though US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has described the country as a "model ally," with the biggest defense budget in NATO as a percentage of GDP, "there's a mix of frustration and a bit of nervousness" in Poland about what to expect, said Philip Bednarczyk, director of the Warsaw Office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. He said Poland's government had invested in its own defense and in its role in NATO "very much as an ally, hoping and believing that the alliance will have their backs. But they're still nervous about that, and they need to hear it fairly regularly."

What's next for NATO?

It's not as if the threat from the sky comes as a surprise. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in early June that the alliance needs a  "quantum leap" of 400% more investment in air and missile defense. "We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies," he said in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London.

Despite the success of the Polish F-16s and Dutch F-35s in downing the handful of drones this time, it's not the most efficient nor cost-effective way to handle that particular threat. "F-35s can't shoot down a swarm of these drones," Bednarczyk said, "so it's going to be a different sort of web of defenses that Poland has to build up."

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen picked up a longtime request from Baltic governments in her State of the Union speech on Wednesday, a theme that would have been drafted in even before the drones entered Poland's airspace. "We must heed the call of our Baltic friends and build a drone wall," she said, also announcing a €6 billion ($7 billion) joint project with Ukraine for the production of drones.

And, though NATO itself doesn't make such purchases or possess the equipment, it is likely to play a big role in coordinating incoming offers. Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said he’d gotten proposals for "concrete support" from many counterparts, including those in the Baltic states, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.

French President Macron said on X that three Rafale fighter jets would be on their way to Poland, and Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans reiterated a pledge of hefty support he said had been decided before the incursion, including two more Patriot anti-missile systems and counter-drone capabilities.

NATO Secretary General Rutte and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, were due to hold a press conference late Friday to elaborate on joint planning for beefed-up defenses.

While Grynkewich acknowledged Thursday on a visit to Lithuania that NATO would be working to "get to a lower cost per engagement," referring to the use of fighter jets to take down relatively inexpensive drones. He wanted to reassure frontline states that they shouldn’t feel unprotected.

"When you're an operational commander and you have a capability, and there's an attack or an incursion into your airspace," he said, "The cost of the weapon doesn't matter at that moment in time: You're going to use it to defend our population."

DW Brussels correspondent Jack Parrock contributed to this report from Strasbourg.

This article was originally published on September 11, 2025, and updated on September 12, 2025.

Edited by: M Gagnon