Poland spends $1 billion on US-made surveillance aerostats

WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s Ministry of National Defence announced it has signed a deal to buy four aerostat-based early warning radar systems from the United States under a deal worth almost $1 billion.

“Poland will be the second country in the world to use such a system,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said at a press conference today, as quoted in a statement released by his ministry. “These aerostats will be financed by a loan provided by the United States.”

The U.S. Army uses aerostats under its Persistent Surveillance System – Tethered program, according the service’s website.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Poland has ramped up its efforts to acquire new weapons and military gear for the nation’s armed forces. Under the plan, the four aerostats will be deployed to Polish military bases in the country’s eastern and north-eastern parts where Poland borders Belarus and Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad, according to the national defense ministry.

How does the Army want to update its blimp-like aerostats? C4ISRNET’s Colin Demarest asks an expert.

The ordered systems “have the capacity to detect a wide range of objects, such as missiles, aircraft, drones, and seaborne units,” the ministry said.

In February 2024, the U.S. Department of State approved the foreign military sale, and it was subsequently authorized by Congress.

In a statement, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said that the principal contractors for this procurement will include Raytheon Intelligence and Space, TCOM, ELTA North America, and QinetiQ’s subsidiary Avantus Federal. Deliveries under the contract will cover airspace and surface radar reconnaissance aerostat systems, airborne early warning radars, as well as related equipment and logistics, according to the agency.

Manufacturer TCOM received a $450 million contract in 2021 to provide Saudi Arabia with 10 sensor-laden aerostats for communications and intelligence, according to the company’s website.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰国防部宣布，已签署一项协议，从美国购买四套基于系留气球的预警雷达系统，该协议价值近10亿美元。

科西尼亚克-卡米什在今天举行的新闻发布会上表示：“波兰将成为世界上第二个使用这种系统的国家。”他的部门发布的一份声明援引了他的话说。“这些系留气球将由美国提供的贷款资助。”

据美国陆军官网显示，美国陆军在其“持续监视系统-系留”计划中使用系留气球。

自2022年2月俄罗斯入侵乌克兰以来，波兰加大了为本国武装部队采购新型武器装备的力度。据波兰国防部称，根据该计划，这四个系留气球将部署在波兰东部和东北部与白俄罗斯和俄罗斯飞地加里宁格勒接壤的军事基地。

陆军打算如何升级其类似飞艇的系留气球？C4ISRNET 的 Colin Demarest 向一位专家提出了这个问题。

该部表示，订购的这些系统“能够探测各种物体，例如导弹、飞机、无人机和海上舰艇”。

2024年2月，美国国务院批准了这笔对外军售，随后国会也批准了该军售。

美国国防安全合作局在一份声明中表示，此次采购的主要承包商包括雷神情报与空间公司、TCOM公司、ELTA北美公司以及QinetiQ公司的子公司Avantus Federal。该机构称，合同交付内容将涵盖空域和地面雷达侦察系留气球系统、机载预警雷达以及相关设备和后勤保障。

据该公司网站消息，制造商 TCOM 于 2021 年获得了一份价值 4.5 亿美元的合同，向沙特阿拉伯提供 10 个装有传感器的系留气球，用于通信和情报。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。