The trials form part of a program the ministry calls "Deep Precision Strike", aimed at gauging whether homegrown defense systems can hit distant targets with precision — and, officials say, at bolstering Poland's deterrent posture in the process.
People living in areas where the drones may fly will be warned in advance through alerts issued by the government's Security Center, the ministry said.
A phased rollout is planned under rules the ministry laid out in a decision dated Sept. 12, 2025, with the Inspectorate of Unmanned Weapons Systems Forces coordinating the effort. Engineers will first put the aircraft through trials at a military range; only if they clear that hurdle will testing move to actual flights along designated air corridors. Officials say that shift requires securing broad stretches of airspace, since the unarmed drones are expected to travel distances measured in the hundreds of kilometers.
Analysts note that such open-air testing is really only feasible with unarmed aircraft — outfitting drones with live munitions for trials over Polish territory would demand a far larger, more tightly controlled safety zone.
Among the aircraft that could take part is FlyFocus, a Polish-designed drone, said Bartłomiej Wypartowicz of the defense outlet Defence24. Built in a flying-wing shape similar to that of the U.S. B-2 bomber, a design chosen to make aircraft harder to spot on radar, FlyFocus spans about 5 meters and weighs 130 to 140 kilograms. Its top speed depends on the engine fitted: roughly 160 kilometers per hour with a piston engine, or up to 300 with a jet engine.
The airframe is also built to carry weight: a standard configuration allows for a 45-kilogram warhead, rising to as much as 60 kilograms in certain setups. None of that armament will be fitted for the tests now being planned, Wypartowicz said.
Exactly how the trials will run is still open, according to analysts, who floated a few possibilities — launching the drone from a location at sea and flying a planned route across Poland, or running ground tests focused on individual system components. Restricted airspace along the borders with Belarus and Ukraine could also come into play, they said.
Armed long-range systems face a much narrower path to testing inside Poland, given the hazards involved, which is why some of that work — testing long-range munitions in particular — has instead taken place abroad, including in Norway, analysts said.
(jh)
Source: Polish Radio