Poland buys 13 FlyEye surveillance drone sets

"We will develop drone forces ... in all domains in which drones can operate," the minister, Władyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said, while signing the drone purchase deal.

The drone inspectorate will coordinate strategy for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as unify the training of their operators.

FlyEye drones, produced by Polish company WB Electronics, are designed to conduct image reconnaissance from the air both in daylight and using thermal imaging at night.

Already in use by the Polish armed forces, FlyEye drones are also used by Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Kosiniak-Kamysz told a press conference that during his country's EU presidency that starts in January, Poland will push for the bloc to devote more funds to defence, possibly by using unspent funds from national recovery plans.

"It is good that the EU sees the need to support the arms industry and the operational capabilities of the national armies of EU countries, but much more money is needed," he said.

Spurred by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Poland became NATO's top spender in terms of the proportion of its national wealth devoted to defence. Warsaw said it will spend 4.1% of gross domestic product on defence in 2024 with a pledge to increase this to 4.7% in 2025.

The United States opened a new air defence base in northern Poland on Wednesday (November 13) an event the European nation's president said showed the country was secure as a member of NATO even as Russia wages war in neighbouring Ukraine.

Situated in the town of Redzikowo near the Baltic coast, the base has been in the works since the 2000s.

At a time when Donald Trump's election victory has caused jitters among some NATO members, Warsaw says the continued work on the base by successive U.S. presidents shows Poland's military alliance with Washington remains solid whoever is in the White House.

"The United States... is the guarantor of Poland's security," President Andrzej Duda said.

The Kremlin on Wednesday called the base a bid to contain Russia by moving American military infrastructure nearer its borders.

Military sources told Reuters the system in Poland can now only be used against missiles fired from the Middle East and the radar would need a change in direction to intercept projectiles from Russia, a complex procedure entailing a change of policy.