Poland is pressing ahead with a €2 billion plan to build a large‑scale anti‑drone defence network along its eastern border, a move officials say is driven by repeated incursions of suspected Russian drones into Polish airspace. Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said the first elements of the system will be operational within six months, with full deployment expected within two years, according to comments reported by The Guardian and cited across European media.
The project will form a layered “anti‑drone wall” stretching along Poland’s borders with Belarus and Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave. According to officials, the system will integrate jamming technologies, radar‑guided guns, rapid‑fire cannon, artillery and surface‑to‑air missiles, creating a modernised defensive line built on top of older fortifications constructed a decade ago.
Authorities said some of the more aggressive counter‑drone capabilities will be reserved for wartime use due to the potential risk to civilians, as noted by Tomczyk in his remarks to British media.
The initiative follows a series of drone incidents in September, when more than a dozen suspected Russian drones entered Polish airspace, prompting airport closures, fighter‑jet deployments and NATO Article 4 consultations after Warsaw reported shooting down “hostile objects” near its border regions.
Poland’s government has framed the investment as essential to strengthening NATO’s eastern flank at a time of heightened regional tension. Defence officials said the system will significantly enhance Poland’s ability to detect, disrupt and neutralise unmanned aerial threats as drone warfare continues to reshape modern military strategy.
