Poland allocates USD55 million for UASs and announces new Drone Centre

A Jet-2 LM (loitering munition) displayed on 22 July 2025 at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Warsaw. (Polish MND)

Poland's Ministry of National Defence (MND) pledged USD55 million for the procurement of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) for 2025 and announced the establishment of a Drone Centre at the Air Force Institute of Technology (Instytut Techniczny Wojsk Lotniczych: ITWL) in Warsaw, according to a 22 July MND press release.

Poland's Deputy Minister of National Defence Cezary Tomczyk noted the possibility of doubling the funds assigned to procurement if domestic industry can deliver on orders. The MND said it had been working on comprehensive changes in UAS provision for the Polish Armed Forces for many months, adding that the goal is to quickly saturate the military with uncrewed systems, accompanied by an appropriate training cycle.

To this end Tomczyk announced the simplification of procurement procedures, intended to allow the military to purchase UASs that have been positively tested disregarding the provisions of public procurement law.

He signed four agreements and one memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Polish research institutes to improve techniques and procedures in the use of UASs. As part of the agreements approximately 90 types of UASs are planned to be tested in nine armed forces units in September and October.

The new Drone Centre will be used for testing and developing various types of UASs as well as unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). The country's military institutions, the armed forces, defence companies, and specialist units of the MND including the Cyberspace Defense Forces (Wojska Obrony Cyberprzestrzeni: WOC) will be able to develop unmanned systems at the new centre. The Polish Cyberspace Defence Forces will be fully operational by 2026.