Reference News Network, March 13 report: According to the website of the UK's Financial Times on March 10, Poland is working on building what it claims to be the "most advanced" anti-drone system in Europe, following the infringement of NATO member airspace by drones.

Last September, about 20 drones reportedly from Russia entered Polish airspace. Warsaw decided to deploy the system to deal with similar situations. With the Iranian "Shahed" drone hitting a British military base in Cyprus last week, the development of anti-drone technology in Europe has become more urgent.

The article reports that the anti-drone system, named "Sanghe," was jointly developed by Poland's defense group, Norway's Kongsberg Group, and Poland's Advanced Protection Systems Company, with an estimated cost of about 3.5 billion euros. This funding will come from loans provided by the EU to Poland under its new "European Security Initiative" plan. The plan aims to strengthen European weapons production capabilities to counter the Russian threat.

The "Sanghe" anti-drone system will include 18 mobile anti-drone gun groups, each equipped with sensors and actuators connected to a central command system. Hundreds of vehicles carrying radar components and cannons will patrol along Poland's borders and connect with domestic and allied defense systems.

Retired Polish general Jarosław Gromiński said, "The incident in September last year was a major lesson for Poland, as we had to use existing equipment, that is, dispatching fighter jets to fire missiles (each missile costs up to one million dollars) to shoot down drones that may have cost only 1,000 dollars."

He added, "This shows that we need to quickly fill a major gap in our air defense system."

Poland's Prime Minister Tusk promised that the country would build the "most advanced, smartest, and most integrated anti-drone defense system in Europe."

The system will combine electronic warfare capabilities (including interference and disruption of navigation) with kinetic defense measures. In addition to being able to intercept drones and firing 30mm caliber machine guns, the system can also launch guided missiles targeting low-flying helicopters and drones.

Poland awarded the contract to develop the "Sanghe" system without a bidding process and set an ambitious schedule. The first anti-drone gun groups are expected to be delivered to the Polish army by the end of the year, and the entire system is expected to be operational within 24 months.

Although Poland's defense group and Kongsberg Group have a good production record, and their weapons have been tested in combat on the Ukrainian front, the core technical challenge of the "Sanghe" anti-drone system is how to integrate various different components into the central command architecture developed by Advanced Protection Systems Company.

The project has also encountered some political resistance. The right-wing Law and Justice Party opposes the government's use of EU loans, claiming that this will allow Brussels to intervene in Poland's sovereign procurement decisions.

Poland's President Karol Nawałkowski previously warned that he might veto the proposal to use funds from the "European Security Initiative" plan. Nawałkowski suggested using the reserves of the Polish central bank as a more economical source of funding.

Tusk responded that if the president exercises his veto power, the government can seek alternative financing options and emphasized that the president's veto is baseless.

Radosław Piasek, co-founder of Advanced Protection Systems Company, said that the "Sanghe" anti-drone system is a new concept, but its development is based on experiences from Ukraine. (Translated by Yang Xuelai)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7616654796757664307/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.