“We have negotiated an agreement that would cover procurement of 4 UCAV packages – 24 aircraft armed with anti-tank guided missiles”, stated head of the Polish Ministry of Defence Mariusz Błaszczak, referring to the acquisition of the Bayraktar TB2 drones in his interview for Polskie Radio 24.
The Head of the MoD added that Poland expects the first UCAV set of 6 aircraft to be delivered next year. He noted that the agreement also covers the logistics and training package, as well as a maintenance offset agreement, with the offset delegated to a “military enterprise”. Błaszczak stated that no Polish company makes UAVs in the class of TB2. Should a similar product be offered by the Polish military industry, the MoD would consider procurement as such.
Bayraktar TB2 is a tactical medium-range armed UCAV that meets the assumptions of the Polish Gryf UAV procurement programme. The project envisages the acquisition of up to 15 sets of aircraft. It is thus possible Turkish drones would be used mainly to achieve the initial capability.