Air defenders over the Baltic: 35th Missile Squadron trains at Ustka
Soldiers of Poland's 35th Air Defence Missile Squadron, based in Skwierzyna, have completed another stage of field training. The exercise - covering tactical tasks, live-fire training and the coordination of subunits - took place at the Central Air Force Training Ground in Ustka, a key facility for Polish air defence on the Baltic coast.
In brief
Air defenders from the 35th Skwierzyna Air Defence Missile Squadron completed a training stage at the Central Air Force Training Ground in Ustka. The programme included tactical tasks, live-fire training and cooperation between sub-units, and the unit uses S-125 Newa SC missile systems and ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns. The Skwierzyna squadron is part of the Air Force's Air Defence Forces and reports to the 3rd Warsaw Air Defence Missile Brigade.
Live fire over the Baltic
The Central Air Force Training Ground in Ustka is where Polish air defence units conduct their live missile and gunnery firings. Its significance comes from its location - a vast, controlled airspace over the Baltic Sea that allows crews to safely launch toward aerial targets, well away from populated areas.
It was here that the squadron's crews faced tasks in conditions close to real combat. For missile subunits, the field stage is a test not only of accuracy but, above all, of the entire chain of operations - from detecting a target, through relaying data, to engaging it.
Newa SC missiles and ZU-23-2 guns
The 35th Squadron operates short-range S-125 Newa SC surface-to-air missile systems alongside ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft guns. This is weaponry designed to counter aerial targets at low and medium altitudes - aircraft and helicopters, and increasingly, in today's battlefield reality, unmanned aerial vehicles.
Although the Newa is a design with roots reaching back several decades, the Polish SC variant has undergone deep modernisation, retaining its role as a significant component of lower-tier air defence.
A link in a wider system
The 35th Missile Squadron does not operate in isolation. Stationed in Skwierzyna, the unit forms part of the Air Force's Anti-Aircraft Defence Troops and is subordinate to the 3rd Warsaw Air Defence Missile Brigade. Field training is part of the cycle of maintaining combat readiness, aimed at the smooth coordination of subunits within the country's broader air defence umbrella.
The importance of this component grows with tensions across the Baltic Sea region. The security of Polish airspace - including over the sensitive coastline and shipping lanes - rests on units such as this one.
Ready to act
As the soldiers themselves stress, the stage just completed marks another step in honing their skills. The motto with which the squadron summed up the exercise - "strong in training, ready to act" - aptly captures the character of this field test on the Baltic.
Source: Gazeta Morska · Compiled by: Michał Iwański
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