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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
American anti-drone systems have been deployed to Poland, as the country and its allies seek to step up air defences on NATO’s eastern flank in response to recent Russian drone incursions.
The news, reported on Thursday by Associated Press, was confirmed on Friday by Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.
“American Merops anti-drone systems are already in Poland!” he wrote. “Along NATO’s eastern flank, systems are being deployed that will enhance our capabilities for detecting and countering drones.”
Our cooperation with allies is yielding further tangible results,” added Kosiniak-Kamysz. “Thank you, America and NATO, for this decision and joint efforts towards security.”
‼️🇵🇱🇺🇸
Amerykańskie systemy antydronowe MEROPS już w Polsce! Wzdłuż wschodniej flanki NATO są rozmieszczane systemy, które zwiększą nasze zdolności wykrywania i zwalczania dronów. Nasza współpraca sojusznicza przynosi kolejne konkretne efekty. Dziękuję 🇺🇲 i NATO za tę decyzję i…— Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (@KosiniakKamysz) November 7, 2025
In September, shortly after Russia’s unprecedented drone incursions in Polish airspace, news website Euractiv first reported that NATO would deploy Merops to Poland and Romania.
On Thursday, the Associated Press confirmed, citing NATO military officials, that US Merops systems were being deployed to Poland and Romania, and would also be used in Denmark.
On Friday, Polsat, a leading Polish broadcaster, reported that the system had begun operations in Poland. It added, citing sources, that Merops had not been purchased by Poland but was an “American contribution” towards “securing NATO’s eastern flank” and had come to Poland via US bases in Germany.
Speaking to Associated Press, US Colonel Mark McLellan, assistant chief of staff operations at NATO Allied Land Command, said that Merops provides “very accurate detection” of hostile drones, allowing them to be tracked and, if necessary, neutralised.
“It’s able to target the drones and take them down and at a low cost as well,” said McLellan. “It’s a lot cheaper than flying an F-35 into the air to take them down with a missile.”
When around 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace on the night of 9-10 September, Polish and other allied aircraft were scrambled in response.
They shot down some of the drones, but many experts warn that the use of expensive jets with expensive missiles to shoot down cheap Russian drones is not sustainable in the long term.
Pilne ! System #MEROPS rozpoczyna działanie w Polsce. Będzie bronił wschodniej Polski przed atakami rosyjskich dronów.
Według moich informacji nie jest to system zakupiony przez #wojskopolskie – to amerykańska kontrybucja – wsparcie @USEmbassyWarsaw @USArmyEURAF w… pic.twitter.com/831grnMQfU
— Michal Stela (@michalstela) November 7, 2025
On Thursday, Romania’s defence minister, Ionuț Moșteanu, told news service Digi24 that his country had already been testing the Merops system for the last two weeks. He noted that “the Americans gave us this very good system, [which has been] successfully tested in Ukraine”.
Moșteanu added that the tests of the system now being conducted in his country and in Poland were aimed at helping integrate Merops into NATO’s command and control systems.
In the immediate aftermath of the Russian drone incursions, NATO launched a new mission, Eastern Sentry, to bolster air defences on its eastern flank. Meanwhile, the EU is seeking to develop its own “drone wall” and Poland itself has also moved to bolster its own air defences.
Poland has raised defence spending to the highest relative level in NATO, buying hundreds of tanks, aircraft, howitzers and other hardware.
But the recent Russian drone incursions have reignited a difficult question: is Poland preparing for the right war? https://t.co/Uya7dizUPi
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) October 25, 2025
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
