Drone shield SAN: “We are building Europe's largest drone shield”

Cezary Tomczyk is Poland's deputy defence minister and is in charge of building Europe's most comprehensive counter-drone defence. A conversation about billions, Poland's armed forces and the protection of the eastern border.

Mr Tomczyk, allow me to begin by quoting Prime Minister Donald Tusk. He recently said: “SAN will be the largest and most modern anti-drone system in Europe.” That is somewhat reminiscent of the style of Donald Trump, who likes to claim that something is the biggest or the best. What is actually behind SAN?
Prime Minister Donald Tusk is right – we are building a Polish drone shield that is to become part of the “East Shield” project. We are talking about 15 billion zloty (3.45 billion euros) here. No other European NATO country is currently building such a system or providing similar funds for the defence against drones. SAN will consist of 18 battery modules, which will be stationed on Poland's eastern and north-eastern border – on the borders with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The system will comprise more than 700 different elements, including radar systems, effectors, and soft-kill and hard-kill solutions intended to protect the lowest layer of our airspace. We have worked on this solution for many months. The person principally responsible for it is General Michal Marciniak, the Defence Minister's plenipotentiary for air defence. Drones are one thing, but Poland has been investing heavily in air defence for years. Today we see clearly how important such capabilities are. If Ukraine could turn back time, it would certainly invest much more in developing them.

You are developing a whole series of new systems, including some that were previously not available on the market. The largest supplier is Polish industry.
When we talk about SAN, that is, about the defence against drones, more than 60 percent of the value added goes to Polish industry. The principle is simple: if there is a Polish product or project, we opt for precisely that solution. If, however – as in the case of the 30-millimetre cannon – there is no such Polish solution, we turn to a foreign partner. Here that is the Norwegian company Kongsberg. On the Polish side, two companies are involved in the project: PGZ and APS.

Polish defence companies enjoy a good reputation. Sometimes, however, they lack size and thus sufficient production capacity. Is Polish industry really capable – and within a short time – of handling such a large project?
I have no doubts whatsoever about the contracts we have signed. The whole thing is based on a clearly defined plan, and we are largely relying on solutions that are already available on the market – because today, speed is of decisive importance. That is why we opt for systems that can be introduced quickly. One example is the 35-millimetre cannon, which until now was mounted on ships and can today also be installed on land platforms. Another example is the so-called “Monster from Tarnów”: a minigun that can fire up to 3,600 rounds per minute. In parallel, we are strengthening the industry's production capacities.

Can you give examples of that?
At the Belma plant in Bydgoszcz we have increased production capacity for anti-tank mines 35-fold compared with the period from 2015 to 2023. Poland is also the largest supplier of TNT to the US Army. All of these are existing and available solutions that make it possible to strengthen the state's defence capability quickly. Our goal is to build the most comprehensive, multi-layered defence system possible. We are learning from Ukraine's experience. There is no single system that guarantees one hundred percent protection. That is why the interplay of many different solutions is decisive. If one does not work, the system deploys the next.

“If we have a weak spot, the adversary will try to exploit it.”

The other Europeans are also watching Ukraine and trying to draw lessons from this war. Poland, however, is a frontline state and lies much closer to events. What concrete conclusions do you draw from the fighting in Ukraine?
If we have a weak spot, the adversary will try to exploit it. That is why our air defence is multi-layered. It consists of three large programmes. The first of these is Wisla – that is, a medium-range air defence based primarily on Patriot missiles. The next is Narew, which is being developed jointly with the United Kingdom, as well as Pilica and Pilica Plus, that is, short-range air defence systems. What we lacked, however, was the lowest layer of defence, the one responsible for engaging drones. We are closing that gap right now. Pilica serves primarily to protect our own troops. SAN, by contrast, will protect the border, the soldiers and Polish territory. It is a truly large-scale project. I would also like to stress that this is a system intended for wartime. In peacetime – unless we were dealing with a massive use of drones against Poland – SAN's capabilities will be used only partially.