Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister of Defence, provided information that “MQ-9A Reaper class MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) drones, leased from the US as an urgent operational need, have been delivered to Poland. They will serve in the Air Force, conducting reconnaissance, among other things, on our eastern border”.
The delivery took place under a contract signed in October 2022 with General Atomics. The subject of the contract became a reconnaissance service with one MQ-9A Reaper unmanned reconnaissance system. The value of the contract is US $70.6m. The duration of the reconnaissance service is to last until the Polish Armed Forces purchase their own unmanned reconnaissance and strike system.
According to the Armament Agency, drones of this type “will enable the acquisition of reconnaissance data in the field of image-based reconnaissance (IMINT) through the use of optoelectronic warheads and in the field of radio-electronic reconnaissance (SIGINT)”.
The accelerated pace of acquisition of an unmanned reconnaissance system by the Polish army is a result of the outbreak of war in Ukraine. According to media reports, Poland will opt to purchase the system from the same company from which it leases its current system, to be the MQ-9B Reaper version.
