Poland completes receipt of Turkish UAVs

Poland now has all 24 of the TB2 UAVs it ordered from Türkiye, operating them across four systems based at the 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base at Mirosławiec. (Polish MND)

Poland has received the last of 24 Baykar Bayraktar TB2 armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Türkiye.

The Polish Armaments Agency (AA) announced the milestone on 16 May, saying that the last four unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), each comprising six UAVs, had been received into the 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base at Mirosławiec on the same day.

“The Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Defense, Paweł Bejda, together with representatives of the Polish Armed Forces, took part in the ceremony of completing the delivery of the last, fourth set of the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned reconnaissance and strike system,” the AA said.

News of the milestone came three years after the deal between the Armament Inspectorate and Baykar Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret was first disclosed in May 2021, and one-and-a-half years after deliveries to Poland commenced in late 2022. The first instructors and operators from the 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base and the Engineering and Aviation Training Center in Dęblin began training on the system at the end of 2023.

As well as the UAVs which are fitted with electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) sensors, synthetic aperture radars, and weapons, each UAS comprises three ground control stations (GCSs) and spares. As noted by the AA, the weapons package for the TB2 includes laser-guided MAM-L thermobaric and MAM–C high-explosive Smart Micro Munitions, as well as training munitions from Roketsan.

The deal also included some technology transfer, with the Polish Ministry of National Defence (MND) saying that Polish industry would gain capabilities in engine overhaul and repair, and maintenance of the GCSs and EO/IR sensors.