Beefing Up Defenses

Poland's Deputy Defense Minister Czeslaw Mroczek said it will acquire combat drones as part of a $42 Billion overhaul of its armed forces amid heightened tensions with Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis.

The Russian use of drones to scope out artillery and other military assets over Ukraine has prompted Poland to use unmanned aircraft as part of its strategy to defend the homeland. 

Warsaw will begin acquiring reconnaissance drones in 2017 and attack models in 2018-2019 as part of the multi-billion dollar upgrade of its military over the next decade. Other military systems and hardware will include acquiring a missile shield and anti-aircraft systems, armored personnel carriers and submarines.

The escalation of tensions with Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis has prompted Poland to move thousands of Polish soldiers currently assigned to facilities in the west to currently little used outposts in the east of the country.

NATO has also set up a rapid defense force comprised of military personnel from several EU nations, but is only stationing equipment and supplies in eastern Poland for use when they are called into action from bases in their home countries.