Reconnaissance drones made at home: Poland orders FlyEye from FlyTronic

The Polish Ministry of National Defence has signed a procurement contract for FlyEye reconnaissance drones with FlyTronic, a domestic manufacturer. The contract is worth more than one billion Polish złoty, equivalent to around 230 million euros. The procurement programme is financed from the SAFE programme; the Polish Army thus receives domestically produced drones, and operational training on them has already begun.

SAFE is a funding programme of the EU; with this contract it supports domestic military development. The FlyEye drones are credited with being able to circumvent Russian jamming systems. All systems are expected to be delivered by the end of 2030.

According to Polish media, the Polish Army has already received a first batch. These are presumably the 190 systems ordered in May this year. They are being distributed to operational units and to the Territorial Defence Forces; some are also going to the reconnaissance platoons of the K2GF and K2PL tank battalions.

The Polish government armament authority commented: “Contract signed. Deliveries under way. Capacity growing. In May the Armament Agency signed a contract with WB Group for additional FlyEye systems for the Polish Armed Forces.” It added: “Today the first deliveries under this contract are already reaching the troops. It is precisely this efficient contract execution that leads to tangible capabilities for the Polish Armed Forces.”

The contract was signed on 28 May by the state Armament Agency and WB Electronics. The company holds the majority stake in FlyTronic and is itself part of WB Group. In August, WB Group's president stated that the company can currently produce up to 25 complete FlyEye drone sets per day.

Reconnaissance drones with daylight and thermal cameras

FlyEye is designed for reconnaissance and aerial imaging. Its electro-optical payload consists of daylight and thermal imaging cameras, which allow observation and image recording in varying light conditions. The system has proven itself in the Polish Armed Forces, where it supports operational troops as well as the Territorial Defence Forces; according to media reports, it has also already been used in combat operations in Ukraine.