The fresh centre coordinating work on unmanned workers, cooperation with start-ups, improvement of 3D printing – Polish armed forces focus on drones. Unmanned aircraft and systems to combat them are to be equipped with all types of troops, and operators with military experience from Ukraine will participate in training soldiers.
The Thursday session of the National Defence Commission was devoted to advancement in developing unmanned systems in the Polish Army. – On 1 January 2025, the Inspectorate of Armed Forces Unmanned Systems in the General Command of Types of Armed Forces was established. In 2025, successive contracts were signed with the Polish manufacture for the supply of drones and anti-drone systems, said Deputy Minister of National Defence Cezary Tomczyk.
New OSA task and 3D printing pilotage
Mr Tomczyk besides briefed Members on the advancement of work on the OSA project, the Autonomous Systems Centre. It aims to coordinate the cooperation of military units, investigation institutes, as well as companies and start-ups from the industry.
According to the head of the MON, the improvement of military drone systems is expected to lead to their widespread usage at all levels of the armed forces, including the smallest structures, specified as individual platoons. As he emphasized, in various formations – among others in the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade and the 15th Giżycka Mechanized Brigade – cells liable for training soldiers in the field of drone handling have already been created.
The military besides focuses on modern technologies, including 3D printing – 9 units presently have a pilot program. – First, as part of the program, we make small-scale production of low-budget components of FPV drones, utilized for training, among others. 3D printing gives us the ability to modify the design, small-series production of spare parts, fast implementation of innovations and make talents and competences of Polish soldiers. As for the smallest unmanned platforms, we request to build in the armed forces the ability to make changes, modifications and fresh solutions on the level of a military unit from day to day," said Tomczyk.
The Deputy Minister of Defence drew attention to the savings that can make the usage of this technology. – Example one: form for explosive charge designed for independent elaboration with explosive material. The unit acquisition cost is PLN 330, while the cost of making an equivalent product by 3D printing is PLN 10 – said Tomczyk. – Second example: a replacement part for a specialized pyrotechnic robot. It is simply a simple component – a part of the wheel – but erstwhile the maker is liable for it, it has a number of consequences, including a advanced price. At the maker specified part costs PLN 60 thousand. Its equivalent, i.e. printing in the corresponding material on the 3D printer, costs PLN 3. Let us remember that we are not just talking about printing from composite materials, but besides from materials of much higher durability. This shows how much possible for savings and improvement stands before us and how crucial it is to make this direction consistently – concluded Cezary Tomczyk.
Cooperation with Polish producers
The deputy officer of the MON besides informed about the launch of a peculiar contact form for companies and start-ups that can offer military solutions in the field of unmanned systems. It is intended to facilitate the improvement of cooperation between the army and the Polish industry.
– The strategy will automatically delegate the application to the applicable organizational unit of the Polish Army, so that the entrepreneur can get information on whether the proposed solution can be accepted into the purchasing procedure, with the approval of the Minister of National Defence, with the exception of the Public Procurement Law," said Tomczyk. – You know very well that the evolution of unmanned systems on the modern battlefield frequently takes several, sometimes respective days. The military must so have procedures that let for the fast implementation of various types of innovation," he added.
Tomczyk besides recalled that cooperation between armed forces and Polish entrepreneurs is already developed. This includes the implementation of a contract signed in May with the WB Group for the transportation of unmanned mini-Eye air systems or the conclusion of a contract for a mobile unmanned reconnaissance vehicle Tarantula from PIAP.
The military will get drone systems
Tomczyk besides referred to the urgent request to acquisition anti-drone systems, for which the Inspectorate of Unmanned Armed Forces is responsible. “We are on the verge of finalising a large programme that will in practice make a fresh layer of air defense,” he said the politician and pointed out that there was a three- to four-week period. He besides stressed that he intended to trust primarily on national technologies in obtaining specified solutions.
Currently in Poland, as well as Romania and Denmark, Turkish is deployed Merops anti-drone system, delivered by the American side. It is intended to let neutralising drone threats at a much lower cost than the usage of classical aviation and costly weapons, as demonstrated by the situation with Intruding Russian drones into Polish space air at night from 9 to 10 September.
Each military college will train drone operators
He besides spoke during the committee gathering Brig-Gen Mirosław BodnarInspector of the Unmanned Armed Systems Army. He gave Members information on the training of future drone operators. As he pointed out, the military is presently seeking to disseminate directions and courses related to the piloting of unmanned aircraft, but also, for example, their construction, repairs or usage of information obtained by them, at all military universities.
Brig-Gen Bodnar besides announced that the creation of the Inspectorate was only the beginning of the process of implementing unmanned workers in the Polish Army. In the future, an Unmanned Armoured strategy Military Component is to be created. "The assumptions that have been adopted in this concept specify the component as a separate kind of troops located in the structure of types of armed forces, specifically in the General Command of the RSZ," he said. He besides told Members that on 19 September the Inspectorate had submitted to the Minister of Defence the concept of the deployment of unmanned weapons systems in the armed forces. The concept besides includes directions for possible improvement by the end of 2039.
As the general emphasized, the military besides needs large amounts of the smallest drones – the alleged Class 1 – to be able to train future operators in their service. It was the creation of the training strategy that indicated as 1 of the priorities in the implementation of drones in the Polish Army. – The Minister approved the proposed concept of creating a Center for the Training of Unmanned Systems of Armoured Weapons in various locations," said Brig. Gen. Bodnar. He announced that the plans were to introduce fresh courses of survey at all military universities and reported that a training centre based on the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade in Tomaszów Mazowiecki was already being created. External companies as well as drone operators with military experience from Ukraine are besides to participate in training of Polish soldiers.
