More FlyEye UAVs for the Polish Armed Forces

The contract, worth approximately PLN 100 million, was signed in the presence of the Minister of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, and Deputy Minister Paweł Bejda. The signatories were Brigadier General Artur Kuptel, head of the Armament Agency (on behalf of the State Treasury), and Piotr Wojciechowski, president of WB Group. Each of the 13 systems includes four drones and ground equipment.

The previous contract, for six FlyEye systems worth PLN 24 million, was signed in September. Six months earlier, a contract for seven systems, including training, logistics, and service packages, was signed for PLN 54 million.

“This is a significant step in modernizing the Polish Armed Forces. FlyEye drones are effective in both military and non-military operations, utilized by all branches of the armed forces, including operational forces and territorial defense. It’s versatile equipment benefiting everyone,” said Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Minister of National Defense.

These contracts are part of the framework agreement from September 2023, which envisions acquiring over 400 systems with nearly 1,700 drones for the Polish Armed Forces by 2035. According to the Minister of Defence, the reason for purchasing FlyEye systems in smaller batches is to align the Ministry’s procurement policy with industrial capacity and to ensure each batch reflects the latest versions. Since its initial procurement for the Polish Army in 2010, the FlyEye system has undergone multiple upgrades.

FlyEye is a Polish-made mini-class unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), developed by Flytronic, part of the WB Group. It is designed for image reconnaissance, artillery fire control, and patrol missions. It can also serve as a communication relay or even an ultra-light transport platform. The basic version features a surveillance head equipped with a daytime TV camera and a thermal imaging camera. The first Polish Armed Forces unit to use FlyEye was the Nil Military Unit.

FlyEye launches from the operator’s hand and can land on any terrain. It offers various flight modes, from manual control to fully autonomous navigation along a predefined route. It can fly for over 2.5 hours at speeds ranging from 60 to 120 km/h and altitudes up to 3,500 meters. It is compatible with the Topaz integrated fire control system used by Rocket and Artillery Forces. Polish-made drones are also in use in Ukraine, where they are praised for their reliability and resistance to electronic warfare.

At the accompanying press conference, Deputy Minister Paweł Bejda announced another major contract with the Polish defense industry, this time for support vehicles for battalion-level fire modules equipped with K9 howitzers. This will be the second such contract after the recent agreement with Huta Stalowa Wola for support vehicles for rocket artillery.

“The value of this contract will exceed PLN 7 billion, and we plan to sign it by the end of the year, further boosting the domestic defense industry. By the end of the year, we aim to finalize around 40 contracts, both large and small,” said Paweł Bejda.