The new procedures, due to take effect in the coming days, move away from a requirement for "visual identification" towards what officials call "positive identification."
This means a pilot or operational commander can decide to shoot down an unidentified aircraft based on a combination of information, such as radar data, the direction from which it entered Polish airspace, its speed and trajectory, and whether it responds to friend-or-foe signals.
The change is a response to the growing threat from Russia and lessons from the war in Ukraine, officials said, including the appearance of fast jet-powered drones and cruise missiles that leave very little time to react.
"We cannot be idle when it comes to threats, and everything indicates there will only be more of them," Tomczyk said.
He was speaking on Monday at a ceremony in Dęblin, eastern Poland, to sign an engine-servicing deal with GE Aerospace, linked to Poland's purchase of AH-64 Apache helicopters.
Officials stressed the rules are designed to prevent mistakes.
An unusual flight path or missing transponder response would not on their own be enough to classify an aircraft as hostile, they said, given the risk of malfunctions affecting Polish, allied or civilian aircraft.
Entering a no-fly zone would likewise not automatically trigger a decision to fire.
In peacetime, aircraft normally identify potential threats by visual contact, to avoid mistakes such as confusing a civilian or allied aircraft with a hostile one.
Under the new "positive identification" approach, pilots who see several indicators that an aircraft may be hostile – for example a radar reading, entry into a no-fly zone and information from Ukraine – will be able to fire on it from a distance.
Tomczyk said such powers had until now generally been reserved for a state of war or martial law.
He described the change as a novelty within NATO.
The decision was taken by Lt Gen Ireneusz Nowak, the operational commander of the armed forces, he said.
The changes will be introduced gradually, with details to be announced by the operational command's spokesperson.
Poland has faced repeated airspace violations since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including a mass drone incursion in September 2025.
(ał)
Source: PAP, gov.pl