WARSAW, Poland — Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has signed a deal to purchase an undisclosed number of MQ-9B Sky Guardian drones for the Polish Armed Forces. The new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be part of the military’s new component to be launched next month, the Drone Force.
“A few months ago, I declared the creation of the Drone Force which is now becoming a fact. Starting on Jan. 1, the Drone Force will no longer be a plan, but a real part of the Polish military,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said at the signing ceremony on Dec. 12, as quoted in a ministry statement.
“For several such machines, we will pay around … $310 million. It is a significant purchase, but we are investing in the highest-quality gear. We are currently leasing an older version, MQ-9A, but we are upgrading to the latest MQ-9B model,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said. “It’s an investment in Poland’s security and in the cooperation with our strategic partner, the United States.”
In October 2022, the Ministry of National Defence signed a contract to lease a set of MQ-9A Reaper drones from their producer, General Atomics. The deal had a net value of $70.6 million, and it enabled the Polish Armed Forces to become the first military on NATO’s eastern flank to secure the medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) drone.
Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine has pushed numerous allies across the region to accelerate their acquisition plans for UAVs. Last March, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defence told Defense News that Warsaw aims to “intensify the dronization process of the Polish military in specific areas of their use: reconnaissance, combat, and support.”
“Experience with the use of drones across our eastern border [with Ukraine] indicates the validity of their use at the lowest levels of command, so that, for instance, a platoon commander could have reconnaissance UAVs at their disposal, and be able to hit close targets with UAVs or use so-called ‘kamikaze’ drones,” the official said.
The ministry has said the Drone Force will comprise aerial, land, naval surface and underwater unmanned systems.
Under the plan, the new batch of MQ-9B Sky Guardian drones are to be delivered to the Polish military by the first quarter of 2027.
General Atomics says the Sky Guardian drone is outfitted with the Lynx multi-mode radar, automatic takeoff and landing, an advanced electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor, as well as a 79 ft (24-meter) wingspan that is longer than that of its predecessors.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
