Poland Builds Major NATO Anti‑Drone Network Using Ukraine War Tech

CBS reports that Poland, drawing directly on Ukrainian battlefield experience and technology, is building what officials call the SAN program, expected to become Europe’s largest and one of the world’s most dense counter‑drone systems as the Iran war exposes gaps in U.S. and allied defenses. Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced the effort in January, and Polish radar company Advanced Protection Systems, the state‑controlled defense group PGZ and Norway’s Kongsberg are integrating specialized radars, cameras, radio‑frequency sensors, jammers and guns designed to detect and defeat small, low‑flying drones that legacy Western radars largely miss. SAN is planned as a mobile network of roughly 700 vehicles and 50–60 platoons of 30–50 troops each, able to protect Polish airspace, the broader eastern NATO flank and potentially other allies, as interest from additional NATO members grows. Ukrainian systems and operators, already requested by Washington to help shield U.S. forces and partners in the Middle East from Iranian and proxy drones, are feeding real combat data into the design. Analysts quoted in the piece argue many NATO countries, including the U.S., were slow to adapt to the drone threat by over‑focusing on experimental lasers rather than field‑ready systems, and see Poland’s push as a sign that European allies are starting to lead on practical counter‑drone defenses with clear implications for U.S. bases and shared airspace.