Poland receives anti-drone weapons from the US. The Merops system is also deployed in Romania
Anti-drone defense systems Photo: JENS BUTTNER / AFP / Profimedia
The Minister of Defense of Poland, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, confirmed on Friday that his country received and deployed American Merops anti-drone systems within the framework of allied cooperation to protect NATO's eastern flank, informs EFE, taken over by Agerpres.
In a message published on the X platform, the Polish minister said that “these systems will improve the national capabilities of detecting and neutralizing drones” and added that “cooperation with allies gives concrete results”.
Polish broadcaster Polsat reported on Friday that Merops have already started operating in Poland and Polish soldiers are being trained to use them, after the equipment was brought in from US bases in Germany.
Merops is a modular anti-drone system, manufactured in the USA, whose operation is based on the detection of small drones through radars, electro-optical or infrared cameras and artificial intelligence algorithms. After possible targets are detected, the system transmits the information to a command and control center for decision-making and to distinguish between real threats and traps.
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In addition to being able to interfere with the electronic signals and guidance systems of aggressive drones, Merops can send intercepting drones to neutralize or physically hijack hostile devices.
US Colonel Mark McLellan, deputy director of operations at NATO's Allied Ground Command, said, according to the Polish news agency PAP, that the main advantage of the Merops system is its cost-effectiveness, as “it's much cheaper than sending an F-35 fighter jet to shoot (drones) down with a missile.”
The deployment of this system is part of the “Eastern Sentry” mission of the North Atlantic Alliance.
The Merops systems, used for a long time in Ukraine, are also deployed in Romania and will soon reach Denmark as well.
