East Front News #50: Airbus's Grand Entry into Poland; Polish-US talks on Weapons for Aircraft

Belarus conducts military mobilization drills near Polish, Ukrainian borders

On June 18, Belarus launched a weeklong mobilization exercise in the Brest region, directly bordering Poland and Ukraine. The drills involve the call-up and training of reservists, including weapons handling and live-fire exercises, and feature the participation of Belarusian special forces—indicating a focus on asymmetric warfare in border areas. This activity follows a pattern of heightened military preparedness in Belarus, with similar drills held earlier this year in Homel and Brest. 

The increased mobilization reflects Belarus’s ongoing efforts to build operational reserves since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These developments are viewed with growing concern by NATO neighbors, especially given the proximity of Belarusian forces to alliance territory and the scheduled Zapad-2025 joint exercises with Russia later this year, which could mark the largest such maneuvers since 2022. 

Polish-American Talks on FA-50 Weapons and Production

Deputy Minister of National Defence Paweł Bejda met with the president of RTX (formerly Raytheon) to discuss strategic avenues of cooperation. The primary goal of the talks was to increase the involvement of Polish industry in the production of key weapons components and to advance modern defence technologies.

An important point on the agenda was accelerating the delivery of missiles for the FA‑50 aircraft in service with the Polish Air Force, with a view toward situating their production in Poland. The talks also addressed integrating FA‑50s with U.S. weapon systems. Finally, the parties explored cooperation on counter‑drone solutions.

GPS disruptions in the Balic region: a growing hybrid threat

This week, widespread GPS signal disruptions were reported across northern Poland and the Baltic Sea, affecting civilian and military aviation in Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Polish authorities suspect Russian military vessels operating in the area are behind the interference, which is seen as part of broader sabotage efforts targeting critical infrastructure. A recent example includes the rerouting of a commercial flight from Alicante to Bydgoszcz, diverted to Poznań due to signal loss. 

Since the start of 2025, 84 GPS jamming incidents have been recorded in the Baltic Sea—three times higher than in all of 2024—highlighting the escalating nature of these hybrid operations. The disruptions may serve multiple purposes: testing NATO’s response capacity, undermining regional stability, and preventing Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets. The timing also suggests a possible response to NATO’s Baltops exercises launched on June 5. 

As a frontline NATO state, Poland faces ongoing hybrid attacks from both Russian and Belarusian regimes. In response, authorities have issued new aviation protocols and strengthened institutional coordination. Under the Baltic Declaration, Poland and its allies are intensifying regional cooperation in cyber defence, electronic warfare, and intelligence gathering to counter these growing threats. 

Paris Air Show 2025: Airbus's Grand Entry into Poland

The Airbus consortium has signed the largest-ever contract for the delivery of passenger aircraft to Polish Airlines LOT.

The agreement was signed during the Paris Air Show 2025. It covers the delivery of 40 Airbus A220 aircraft under the firm order and a further 44 under options. Deliveries under the firm order will begin in 2027; those under the optional tranche may be delivered from 2032 onwards.

Will Poland buy new Turkish UAVs? (Defence24 Exclusive)

Poland is considering the purchase of new Turkish Bayraktar unmanned aerial vehicles in the TB3 version, Defence24.pl has learned.

„The purchase of Bayraktar TB3 is one of the options being considered by the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland,” replied the Ministry of Defence’s Department of Communication and Promotion to Defence24.pl’s inquiry.

Homar-K MLRS deliveries to Poland

The Polish Army is steadily taking delivery of additional Homar‑K multiple‑rocket launchers, which represent a technological leap forward for our artillerymen. How many have been delivered so far?

The Defence24.pl editorial team received information regarding the number of Homar-K multiple rocket launchers delivered to the Polish Army, produced with the involvement of the Polish defence industry. The Public Communications Department of the Armament Agency reported that a total of 117 launcher modules of the Homar‑K system have arrived in Poland (including nine most recently). In 2025, 54 modules were scheduled for delivery to the Polish Armed Forces, of which 18 have already completed integration and are awaiting delivery to their designated units.

Lithuania Procures Counter-UAS Defence from Poland

The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence has announced the selection of a Polish counter-unmanned aerial system from Advanced Protection Systems.

Interestingly, the system is being purchased by the Ministry of Defence but at the request of energy companies and funded by them. However, Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė has stated that, in the event of aggression against Lithuania, the armed forces will assume operation of the systems and integrate them into the overall air defence network.

Finnish parliament withdraws from Ottawa landmine treaty

Finland’s parliamentarians voted to withdraw from an international agreement which bans anti-personnel mines. This treaty forbids the use of, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and obliges signatories to destroy existing stockage. According to the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee statement the primary reason for this decision was the need to re-evaluate treaty-imposed restrictions that might weaken its self-defence capabilities in the context of the demanding security situation. Helsinki thus wants to strengthen its defense capabilities against Russia, which is intensifying its activity near the border with Finland, including expanded infrastructure and troop buildup. 

Also, this spring a lot of countries from Central-Eastern Europe such as Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland decided to withdraw from the treaty which was aimed at increasing the countries« security abilities. 

Mesko increases ammunition output fivefold with four new production lines operational

Mesko SA, a Polish ammunition manufacturer within the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), inaugurated a new production hall on Friday in Skarżysko-Kamienna, enabling a fivefold increase in small-caliber ammunition output, from 50 million to 250 million rounds annually. The launch of four automated production lines, among the most modern in Europe, marks a major step toward strengthening Poland’s strategic autonomy in ammunition supply. 

The investment is part of Mesko’s „Project 400,” a 466 million PLN initiative, financed primarily by the Polish state, aimed at expanding production capacity across all ammunition types. This includes ongoing efforts to scale up production of the currently most critical 155 mm artillery shells to 150,000 units annually, a target expected to be reached in the coming years, although the precise timeline remains still unspecified. However, it must be noted that such strategic infrastructure inevitably becomes a target for Russian hybrid sabotage. Ensuring robust, multi-layered protection for these facilities should therefore be treated with the same urgency and priority as increasing their output capacity.

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East Front News is a weekly newsletter and article on Defence24.com summarizing the past week’s most important events concerning security and the situation in the Central and Eastern Europe region. It includes original opinions and comments, along with key news items significant from a Polish perspective.

Aleksander Olech, PhD & Jakub Palowski, Deputy Ed. in Chief, Michał Górski