Poland is preparing for a possible drone war with Russia

Polish Ministry of Defense State Secretary Cezary Tomczyk has provided new details about a new €2 billion counter-drone system, which will be the largest of its kind in Europe, capable of detecting and disabling enemy drones.

Tomczyk said in an interview last week that the system, named “San” after a river in southeastern Poland, will be deployed along Poland’s northern and eastern borders.

The official added that it is scheduled to begin operating in the summer of this year, that is, long before the European Union’s anti-drone wall begins operating.

The SAN system will be integrated into the network of air defense systems that Poland is building, which already includes the long-range Wisla, short-range Nario, and shorter-range Belica Plus systems.

“This system was built for defense purposes in times of war, but at least in some parts it can be used in times of peace,” Tomczyk noted.

Direct line

This direct line linking preparations for all-out conventional war with responses to the accelerating shadow war with Russia is what sets Poland apart from the rest of the Western alliance and places it at the forefront of military innovation in NATO.

The EU’s roadmap for defense readiness, published in October, set out a set of measures to transform Europe’s ability to defend itself against Russia by 2030, along with a drone initiative that will become operational by the end of next year.

Since that announcement, Moscow has demonstrated the inadequacy of these plans by targeting, among other attacks, a Polish railway line linking Warsaw to Ukraine.

The message was clear: The Kremlin will continue its hybrid operations, and is already threatening the critical infrastructure of NATO member states in ways that undermine their national security.

Weak points

While NATO countries focus on preparations for an all-out continental war, they face the immediate threat of a prolonged period of destabilizing Russian operations that target the Alliance’s vulnerabilities without doing enough to raise NATO’s collective defence.

As the third largest military power in the alliance and the largest economy in Eastern Europe, Poland has found itself at the center of the maelstrom, exposed not only to Russian drone strikes and railway bombings, but also to constant sabotage, arson and cyber attacks.

Hybrid war

While Poland is preparing for a new battle with Moscow, like the rest of the alliance, it is treating Moscow’s covert campaign as a danger that cannot be separated from the broader Russian threat to Europe. In the process, Poland developed its own internal defense policy against Russian hybrid warfare, and shaped the entire alliance’s response, including Warsaw’s $2.5 billion project to build 700 kilometers of fortifications and high-tech defense networks along its eastern border, dubbed the “Eastern Shield.”

Now Poland is beginning to use its diverse defense arsenal against the most pressing threats it faces from Moscow, and since the incursion of Russian military drones into its airspace in September, Warsaw has taken a series of new measures to confront the new phase in the covert war between Russia and NATO.

First step

The first step was the Mirwais anti-drone system made in the United States, which is a mobile and easy-to-carry system that can be launched from the back of a pickup truck. Then came Operation Horizon, which paved the way for the deployment of 10,000 soldiers to guard critical infrastructure, and the development of a smart application to report any acts of sabotage or potential hybrid warfare. Then came “SAN,” the latest achievement in Poland’s response. At a time when there are many questions about the US commitment to transatlantic security, Poland will be the “spearhead” of NATO in the near term with regard to hybrid defense.

However, its role in shaping the direction of the alliance may go further, according to Tomczyk (Secretary of State in the Polish Ministry of Defence). In addition to Poland’s military plans, this official wants a response to Russia’s covert war to focus more on active deterrence and less on passive defense. About the Center for European Policy Analysis

. Warsaw has taken measures to confront the new phase in the hidden war between Russia and NATO.