Poland has signed a contract with France for the delivery of two observation satellites with a receiving station in Poland. The satellites will serve the army.

On Monday 27 December 2022, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak hosted Minister of Defence of France Sebastien Lecorn in Warsaw. During the meeting, an agreement was concluded for the delivery of two observation satellites with an off-loading station in Poland. The head of the Polish Ministry of Defence noted that the Polish side will have access to satellite imagery as soon as the agreement is signed.

“Our agreement concerns the acquisition of two satellites for the Polish Army, which we will have under Polish colours by 2027. It is extremely important that we will benefit from imaging now, from the time the contract is signed. Our agreement concerns the two satellites, but also the ground station where these images will be processed. Ultimately, our Polish satellites will operate within the French constellation, which will additionally increase our reconnaissance capabilities”, Deputy Prime Minister Błaszczak noted.

As the Ministry of National Defence emphasises, the new satellites will increase the Polish Army’s ability to obtain reconnaissance data based on surveillance satellites operating within the French-Polish constellation. Thanks to them, it will be possible to acquire imaging reconnaissance data with an accuracy of up to 30 cm, and operation within the constellation will allow imaging of a much larger area of the Earth than is possible for a single country.

During the talks, the Polish and French defence ministers raised issues of interoperability within international formats: North Atlantic Alliance, the European Union and the Visegrad Group, as well as bilateral military cooperation.  They also discussed security situation in the region, with particular emphasis on support for Ukraine, which is defending itself against Russian aggression.

Adrian Andrzejewski