For years, Polish armed forces have consistently increased the resources of unmanned aircraft: from reconnaissance to combat, from miniature to those which in size bring to head tiny aircraft. No wonder, due to the fact that present it's hard to imagine a modern army without drones. Among them are constructions that had already grown legend, specified as Bayraktary.
Its weight is only 12 kg, the wingspan is 3.6 m and the dimension is 1.8 m. And yet, despite the inconspicuous appearance, the importance of FlyEye for the military is hard to overestimate. The unmanned aircraft, manufactured by the Polish company WB Electronics, allows you to carry out reconnaissance at a distance of more than 100 km and besides helps effectively control artillery fire. The Polish Ministry of Defence signed a contract in spring to deliver another batch of specified devices.
The eye that flies
The drone can emergence to an altitude of 3,500 m. It develops up to 120 km/h and spends up to 4 hours in the air. It works in respective modes. In 1 version of the vehicle it controls the operator utilizing a radio link with a scope of 180 km. But there's another option. FlyEye can execute a full autonomous mission, moving on a pre-arranged route, and then safely land in the designated location. A moving head is liable for recording the image. It consists of tv and thermal cameras. The drone itself is in turn hard to detect. Thanks to an electrical motor equipped with lithium-polymer batteries, it moves almost silently and remains virtually elusive for the enemy's thermal imaging cameras.
The first FlyEye drones were purchased by the Polish army in 2010. They were acquired with peculiar troops in mind. shortly came another orders. FlyEye appeared, among others, in artillery subunits in territorial defence troops. presently a full of 168 specified machines stay in the hands of soldiers (or counting 42 sets of 4 devices). Among them are FlyEye upgraded to version 3.6. They have better navigational systems, but mostly they have been integrated into the automated Topaz fire control system. 4 sets of modified devices were received by the Polish army in December 2023.
Meanwhile, in subsequent years the number of FlyEye in the Polish army will increase leaps. In 2023, the Ministry of Defence signed a framework agreement with WB Electronics, which assumes the transportation of 1.6 1000 specified devices. The first of them are expected to hit soldiers this year. This, in turn, is an executive agreement. The paper initialled in April concerns 7 sets, a full of 28 drones in version 3.6. “The Polish army gets the best equipment, in the state-of-the-art version that no 1 else has always used,” emphasises Deputy Prime Minister and National Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. The Ukrainian experience is mostly utilized by producers here. The Army has been utilizing FlyEye on the battlefield for a long time, and the conclusions from the front are being turned into applicable solutions in Poland.
A Front Legend
However, FlyEye is not the only one. For years, the Polish army has consistently increased the resources of unmanned aircraft: from reconnaissance to combat, from miniature to those that in size bring to head tiny aircraft. Among them are constructions that have already grown legend.
On the screen you can see a field crossed with groves. There's a tank on the road. The camera is focusing on him. A fewer seconds later, a rocket is launched towards the vehicle. The detonation and the tank are on fire. In the first weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, akin recordings flooded social media. The videos were published by the Ukrainian Army staff. By the way, the name Bayraktar was changed by all cases. utilized by Turkish defenders, the reconnaissance and impact drone rapidly became 1 of the symbols of this war. Soldiers to heaven praised its effectiveness, but even a song about it was created. present about the bayraktars as if a small quieter, but professionals know their own thing: it's an equipment of interest. Poland expressed specified a message even before the outbreak of the full-scale war. In May 2021, she concluded a contract for the transportation of 24 TB2 bayraktars. Almost precisely 3 years later, the last of the ordered machines reached 12 Base of Unmanned Air Ships in Mirosławec. – They can service both as combat and reconnaissance units. These may be the eyes for various types of troops: air forces, land troops, naval forces, peculiar troops or territorial defence troops," emphasised Deputy of the MON Paweł Bejda.
Bayraktar TB2 is an unmanned MALE class. It includes medium-sized drones and long flight time. Depending on the weapon being taken aboard, it weighs 650 kg. It is 6.5 m long and wingspan reaching 12 m. Its maximum velocity is 220 km/h and its scope is 150 km. It can stay in the air for up to 27 hours. Polish bayraktaras were equipped with optical heads L-3 Wescam and SAR radars. They can be recognized both day and night during perfect weather, but besides in hard weather conditions. Along with the unmanned defence department, he besides bought 2 types of laser-guided bombs ranging from 8 to 16 km. The contract was worth $270 million.
Legendary position besides has American unmanned MQ-9A Reaper. In the autumn of 2022, Poland has been producing respective specified machines from the US. Like drones purchased from Turkey, they are stationed in Mirosławc. They are utilized to patrol borders, radio-electronic designation and listening to abroad troops.
Reapers are machines larger than bayractary. Their dimension reaches 11 m, the wingspan reaches 24 m. They can grow up to 480 km/h and stay in the air for up to 30 hours. They scope a ceiling of 15 km, and the scope of the machines oscillates around 2,000 km. Reapers carry up to 1,700 kg of various types of reflection equipment or weapons on board. Drones of this kind can be utilized during combat actions, as American soldiers did during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The value of the lease is $70.6 million.
In addition to drones known to all military lover, the Polish army besides has other, little typical, but equally useful constructions.
Waran with launcher
The tactical multi-tasking Waran vehicle with the launcher mounted on it with the 4 × 4 drive can travel through the roads and scope the least accessible areas. The set itself consists of 2 drones. FT5 is an unmanned reconnaissance. It reaches a ceiling of up to 5 km, while it can last for 10 hours. The modern optoelectronic head allows it to conduct reflection in the day and at night – utilizing thermal imaging. The number 2 drone is BSP-U – a combat device with a scope of nearly 100 km, equipped with a five-kilogram head. It moves at 120 km/h and with advanced precision hits the target. The full is integrated into the Topaz system.
That's how Gladius works. The unmanned search and impact system, like the FlyEye drone, was constructed by WB Electronics. In May 2022, the Ministry of Defence ordered 4 specified sets. The contract costs PLN 2 billion gross. The first elements of the strategy went to the 18th Artillery Regiment in Nowa Dęba in 2022.
The Polish army besides uses tiny drones Warmate. The drone weighs only 4 kg and its dimension is just over a meter. He's utilizing an electrical motor. The battery allows for an hr and a half flight at a distance of 40 km. The devices have a removable head. They can be utilized to conduct observations or as ammunition circulating for mark destruction. The tiny size makes Warmate highly handy. It's in the backpack.
The drone was manufactured by WB Electronics. The first contract for his acquisition of the Ministry of Defence was signed in November 2017. It amounted to PLN 100 million. According to the records, the army was to receive a 1000 unmanned men for special, land, and territorial defence troops. 2 years ago, MON signed another contract for PLN 50 million.
It is essential to add to the list of unmanned drones produced in Israel the mini-Orbiter 2B class, which in erstwhile years were used, among others, by peculiar troops, ordered at the end of 2021 by the miniature reconnaissance drones with the code name Wizard (100 devices to be delivered between 2024 and 1927), yet MayFly – micro-class drones, which was constructed by Asseco Poland. The second drones, which are utilized to conduct the reconnaissance, are only 35 cm long and as many centimetres wide. They weigh 1.6 kg. In late 2022 the army received over 20 specified devices. They went to peculiar forces.
Unmanned men are besides utilized by the Navy. They are primarily utilized to search, identify and destruct marine mines. In turn, hydrographers usage a water drone DriX.
Thus, the number of unmanned workers in the Polish army is increasing avalanchely. A separate structure may shortly be created. In late May, Deputy Prime Minister and National Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced the creation of drone troops. The details are not yet known, but 1 thing is certain – the unmanned will arrive, due to the fact that without them it is hard to imagine modern armed forces.
