Poland signed a contract on Friday for an “unprecedented” anti-drone air defence system that Prime Minister Donald Tusk said would be a game-changer for protecting NATO’s eastern flank.
At the signing ceremony near Warsaw, Tusk called the San system a breakthrough for defending Poland, Europe, and NATO against modern aerial threats, especially drones. The agreement covers the San anti-drone system, to be built over two years by a consortium led by state defence group PGZ with APS and Norway’s Kongsberg. Unofficial estimates put the cost at nearly 15 billion zlotys (€3.4 billion).
San will complement Poland’s layered air defence network, which already includes Patriot systems under the Wisła program, British missiles under Narew, and short-range Pilica systems.
Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the program would include 18 anti-drone batteries and more than 700 vehicles, within a total air defence investment of about 250 billion zlotys.
Tusk said the system, unique in Europe, would strengthen the border with Russia and Belarus and allow Poland to counter drone threats more effectively and cheaply than using fighter jets or missiles.
Donald Tusk
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