Poland expects to receive its first American-made MQ-9B SkyGuardian military drone in January 2027, Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has confirmed, marking the next stage in a major expansion of the country’s unmanned reconnaissance capabilities.
The aircraft is scheduled to arrive at the 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base in Mirosławiec, north-western Poland, where the armed forces already operate several types of military drone.
Speaking during a visit to the base on Friday, 30 October, Kosiniak-Kamysz described the MQ-9B as the largest and most expensive unmanned aircraft that Poland will have at its disposal.
- Find more news from Poland on our Homepage .
The first delivery forms part of a $310 million contract for three MQ-9B SkyGuardians, signed with US manufacturer General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in December 2024.
The new aircraft are intended to replace older MQ-9A Reapers currently operated by Poland under a leasing arrangement.
The minister also used the visit to outline wider investment in military infrastructure and unmanned systems, including approximately PLN 1 billion already invested at Mirosławiec and a substantial additional logistics project.
The delivery remains a future milestone. No Polish-owned MQ-9B has yet been confirmed as delivered, and the January timetable does not itself establish when the aircraft will become operational.
First SkyGuardian expected at Mirosławiec in January
Kosiniak-Kamysz announced the timetable while meeting commanders and personnel at the 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base.
According to the Ministry of National Defence’s official account of the visit, the minister said he expected to welcome Poland’s first MQ-9B SkyGuardian at the base in January.
He described the aircraft as the country’s future largest and most expensive military drone.
The announcement is significant because it provides a more specific arrival date than the original procurement agreement.
When Poland signed the contract in December 2024, the government said deliveries would be completed by the first quarter of 2027.
However, in May 2026, Zbigniew Piec, a General Atomics representative responsible for Central and Eastern Europe, told specialist publication Defence24 that all three aircraft were expected in Poland before the end of 2026, with operational capability anticipated during the first quarter of 2027.
The minister’s latest announcement differs from that earlier industry expectation.
It places the first aircraft’s arrival in January 2027, but does not clarify whether the other two have also been rescheduled or provide individual delivery dates for them.
The distinction between delivery and operational readiness is important.
New military aircraft normally require acceptance procedures, technical preparations, training and integration with supporting systems before becoming available for regular operations.
Poland has not publicly confirmed the precise schedule for those steps.
What Poland bought for $310 million
The MQ-9B SkyGuardian is manufactured by American defence company General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.
It belongs to the category of medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft, designed to carry out missions over extended periods without an onboard pilot.
Unlike small battlefield drones, the SkyGuardian is a large aircraft operated through ground-control and communications systems.
The December 2024 procurement agreement was signed between Poland’s Armaments Agency and General Atomics.
The Ministry of National Defence valued the contract at approximately $310 million, equivalent to around PLN 1.2 billion at the time.
In its own announcement of the sale, General Atomics confirmed that the package includes three SkyGuardian aircraft, two certifiable ground-control stations and three years of support services.
The contract therefore covers more than the airframes themselves.
Ground-control stations allow operators to manage the aircraft and its missions, while maintenance and technical support are essential to sustaining a system intended for prolonged operations.
The MQ-9B is designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
According to the Polish Defence Ministry, the aircraft’s sensors will support imagery intelligence using electro-optical equipment and synthetic aperture radar, as well as signals intelligence.
That gives operators several ways of collecting information, including radar-based observation that does not rely solely on conventional daylight photography.
General Atomics also promotes the aircraft’s long endurance, satellite communications and systems designed to support integration into airspace used by other aircraft.
The manufacturer says the MQ-9B can remain airborne for more than 40 hours under suitable operating conditions, depending on configuration and mission requirements.
Although the aircraft type can be configured for precision-strike missions, the Polish contract announcements emphasise reconnaissance and intelligence collection.
There has been no confirmation that Poland’s initial deliveries will include a particular weapons package.
Replacing Poland’s leased MQ-9A Reapers
Poland already has experience operating large American unmanned aircraft.
The military began using MQ-9A Reapers under a leasing arrangement, with aircraft delivered to Mirosławiec in February 2023.
Those aircraft provided a capability that Poland could operate while arranging the acquisition of a newer system.
The SkyGuardian purchase is intended to replace that arrangement with aircraft owned by the Polish armed forces.
The distinction matters because it moves Poland from leasing an existing reconnaissance platform towards possessing a newer generation of the system and its supporting infrastructure.
The MQ-9B incorporates changes intended to improve endurance, operation in different weather conditions and integration with wider air traffic.
However, acquiring an advanced system does not automatically make every advertised capability available from the moment the aircraft arrives.
Operational effectiveness depends on the sensors and communications equipment delivered, personnel training, maintenance support and integration with the armed forces’ command systems.
Poland’s 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base already has substantial experience with drone operations.
The Defence Ministry describes the unit as responsible for gathering and analysing imagery and electronic intelligence, supporting information distribution and maintaining facilities used by Polish and allied aviation.
Its equipment also includes Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones.
The SkyGuardian will therefore join an existing military capability rather than establish Poland’s unmanned aviation operations from scratch.
Mirosławiec receives major infrastructure investment
During his visit, Kosiniak-Kamysz highlighted the scale of investment already completed at Mirosławiec.
He said approximately PLN 1 billion had been invested in infrastructure at the air base.
The programme has included work to modernise facilities used for unmanned aircraft operations and support.
The minister stressed that purchasing advanced equipment is only one part of building a functioning military capability.
Aircraft also require maintenance, storage, servicing, communications infrastructure and appropriately trained personnel.
Reporting by the Polish Press Agency, carried by Bankier, said a further approximately PLN 900 million was planned for a logistics centre supporting the MQ-9B programme.
That planned expenditure is separate from the $310 million contract for the aircraft and associated systems.
It also should not be confused with the approximately PLN 1 billion the minister said had already been invested at the base.
The infrastructure programme illustrates the broader costs associated with advanced military aviation.
For Poland, the transition from MQ-9A leasing to MQ-9B ownership requires not only new aircraft but also facilities capable of sustaining them over many years.
The precise timetable for completing the additional logistics centre was not established in the minister’s October announcement.
What does Poland’s PLN 26 billion drone investment mean?
Kosiniak-Kamysz also announced a substantial increase in Poland’s commitment to military drones and counter-drone systems.
The minister said that when he took office in 2023, approximately PLN 100 million a year was being spent on unmanned systems.
He contrasted that with PLN 26 billion associated with drone and counter-drone programmes in 2026.
The figure covers a much wider range of equipment than the MQ-9B procurement.
It includes systems intended to detect, track and counter hostile drones, alongside different categories of reconnaissance and strike platforms.
However, the PLN 26 billion figure requires careful interpretation.
During a Sejm debate on 17 September, Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk described the 2026 total in terms of contracting and agreements for drones and counter-drone equipment.
That does not necessarily mean the full amount has already been paid out during the year.
Military contracts frequently involve payments over several financial years, while equipment may be delivered after an agreement is signed.
The distinction has also been raised in parliament.
In a written question submitted in September, PiS MP Jarosław Krajewski asked the Defence Ministry to distinguish completed expenditure from the value of signed multi-year contracts and procurement still being planned.
The publicly available statements examined for this article do not provide a full breakdown reconciling those categories.
The PLN 26 billion should therefore be understood as the government’s stated scale of drone and counter-drone procurement commitments, not a verified figure for cash already spent in 2026.
The SkyGuardian contract accounts for only a fraction of that wider modernisation effort.
Ukraine’s war shapes Poland’s defence priorities
The defence minister explicitly linked Poland’s growing investment in unmanned aircraft to lessons from Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The conflict has demonstrated how drones can be used for reconnaissance, artillery targeting, surveillance, electronic warfare and precision attacks.
It has also shown the importance of counter-drone systems capable of detecting and intercepting threats.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said Poland wants unmanned systems to become a routine part of military operations across its armed forces.
That ambition extends from small drones used by ground units to larger aircraft capable of conducting long-range surveillance.
The government has identified three particular priorities for military modernisation: drone and counter-drone capabilities, artificial intelligence and relatively low-cost systems capable of precise strikes over longer distances.
The minister also stressed the need to train more operators, technicians and instructors.
Advanced unmanned systems require specialist personnel not only to fly them remotely but also to interpret intelligence, maintain equipment and integrate their missions with other forces.
Poland has been expanding its military aviation capabilities more broadly.
In October, Poland-24 reported on the arrival of the country’s tenth F-35A Husarz fighter jet, another stage in its long-term air force modernisation.
The F-35 and MQ-9B programmes serve different purposes, but both require sustained investment in infrastructure, training and technical support.
For NATO, Poland’s acquisition of long-endurance reconnaissance aircraft could expand the intelligence capabilities available on the alliance’s eastern flank.
How the SkyGuardian fleet will be integrated into specific national or NATO operations has not yet been detailed publicly.
What happens next?
The next announced milestone is the arrival of Poland’s first MQ-9B SkyGuardian at Mirosławiec in January 2027.
The government has not provided a specific day for its arrival.
Nor has it confirmed the individual schedules for the remaining two aircraft, the completion of acceptance procedures or the date when the system will achieve operational readiness.
The original contract anticipated completion of deliveries by the first quarter of 2027, but the January announcement should be regarded as the latest publicly confirmed timetable for the first aircraft rather than proof that all deliveries will follow the original schedule.
Further announcements are expected as the programme progresses, particularly concerning the transition away from the leased MQ-9A aircraft and the completion of supporting infrastructure.
For Poland, the MQ-9B programme represents a move towards owning a new generation of long-endurance reconnaissance aircraft. The immediate test will be whether the January delivery is completed as planned — and how quickly the aircraft can be brought into operational service.
