Polish army to acquire thousands of drones, says defence minister
Poland needs to ramp up its drone production as they are the future of the Polish armed forces, Minister of National Defence Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz has said.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of National Defence and Polish Armed Forces held their annual operational briefing in Zegrze near Warsaw, with President Andrzej Duda among the attendees.
During the briefing, Kosiniak-Kamysz said that his ministry was developing new components for the country's armed forces, including drone units. In his assessment, unmanned aerial vehicles were the future of "all branches of the military" and he expected them to use "tens, hundreds of thousands of drones."
"Companies, both state-owned and private-held, are needed which, under state contracts, will be ready to manufacture tens, hundreds of thousands of drones when such a need arises," Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
Speaking about his ministry's achievements last year, Kosiniak-Kamysz mentioned the formation of new military units, in particular units of the Territorial Defence Force (WOT). He denied allegations about its dismantling and said that, on the contrary, the ministry was in the process of creating new WOT brigades.
Kosiniak-Kamysz also reported that last year, the number of military personnel in the Polish Armed Forces increased by 14,000.
According to the minister, on January 1, 2025, a total of 206,000 military professionals are serving in the Polish army, including 144,000 career soldiers. (PAP)
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