Poland's new Bayraktar drones to be battle-ready within days - MoD

Poland's defence minister said on Friday that the battle-readiness of the country's newly-acquired Bayaktar TB2 drones was only a matter of days away.

Mariusz Błaszczak made the announcement while handing over the first consignment of Bayaktar drones to the 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Base in Mirosławiec, in the north-western Zachodniopomorskie province.

Błaszczak, who is also a deputy prime minister, said that in addition to six drones, each batch also contained radars and flight control stations.

"We are also ready to service these craft so battle readiness is a matter of days," Błaszczak said.

The defence minister also said there could be no modern army without drones and that events in Ukraine showed they were an effective weapon that was helping Ukrainians defend their country. He added that Poland had ordered the Bayraktars long before Russia invaded Poland's eastern neighbour. Błaszczak went on to describe the drones' acquisition as an "important step" in the modernisation of Poland's armed forces.

"The armaments we have received will significantly raise the operational capacity of the whole Polish Army," said Marcin Szubiński, the commander of the base, adding that the TB2 aircraft were "earmarked for carrying out reconnaissance and strike missions with the use of precision ammunition (and) can perform the task in the day, at night, and in all atmospheric conditions."

In May 2021, Poland ordered four sets of the Bayakter drone system, comprised of a total of 24 aircraft capable of both surveillance and strike roles, from Turkey