Poland is building an expensive and ultra-modern system for defense against drones and missiles, with the help of which it will turn its eastern border into the "best protected border in Europe". What is known about the new SAN system?
The Polish government speaks of its project in superlatives: “We are creating an ultra-modern system that is unparalleled. There is nothing in all of Europe that can compare to it", said Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the beginning of the year, ARD recalls.
Then Poland signed a cooperation agreement with Norway, together with which it will create a modern air and anti-drone defense system called SAN.
A combination of detection and interception systems
The SAN system will combine various capabilities for detecting drones and shooting them down. Military expert Mariusz Czilma explains that cannons and machine guns of different calibers, as well as interceptor drones, will be used for defense, and a complex system of radars, sensors and cameras will monitor the situation in the air. And one more thing: SAN must detect not only flying drones, but also those that are in a waiting position and are about to be launched. “Eyes and ears“ SAN systems should detect drones at different distances - from a few to several tens of kilometers.
Protection of critical infrastructure as well
The SAN system will serve not only the military - it will also protect critical civilian infrastructure sites. For this purpose, Poland has allocated nearly 3.5 billion euros - part of the funds are European money, which the country receives under the European SAFE financing instrument. From there, EU countries can borrow money on favorable terms to invest in their defense.
The best-protected border in Europe
The new drone countermeasure system will complement measures on the ground. Along more than 700 kilometers, along the eastern borders with Belarus and Russia, Poland is currently building a protective wall. It should stop enemy troops in the event of a possible invasion.
According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, with the help of the SAN drone countermeasure system, the eastern border will become the best-protected border in Europe. “We are not doing all this to threaten anyone. Not to wage war, but to prevent aggression. There is no better way than to show our potential adversaries that Poland's borders on land, water and air are insurmountable for any aggressor.“
Secret services warn of possible attacks on NATO targets
The current Russian attacks on Ukraine show how important modern drone defense systems have become. Recently, Russia has been using so-called jet drones, which are equipped with jet engines. According to military experts, they develop a very high speed - up to 500 km/h, which makes them difficult to detect and intercept. This fact poses serious challenges to Ukrainian air defense.
The secret services warn that attacks on targets in NATO countries, including Poland, are possible, which are disguised as “accidents”. This was stated by Donald Tusk in mid-September.