Poland Launches Tactical Drone Tender

Polish Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak addresses a press conference with British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond (not pictured) in central London, on September 12, 2013, following their annual quadrilateral talks between British and Polish foreign and defence ministers. AFP PHOTO / CARL COURT/POOL (Photo credit should read CARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images)

WARSAW — Poland’s Ministry of Defense has launched a tender to acquire 12 sets of middle-range tactical unmanned aerial vehicles and 15 sets of mini-UAVs for the armed forces. The ministry says it is aiming to significantly boost the military’s surveillance capacity.

All initial bids are to be submitted by Feb. 16, 2015, with the price criterion representing some 60 percent of the points to which will be assigned to offers submitted in the tender procedure.

Another 25 percent of the points will be allocated to bids in relation to the offered operational costs, while the technical parameters of the drones will be responsible for a further 15 percent of the points, the Defense Ministry said in the released tender documentation.

The procurement will be carried out by the ministry’s Armament Inspectorate, which is overseeing all major purchases for the country’s armed forces.

Defense Ministry officials are aiming to sign a deal in early 2016, according to the information obtained by local news agency PAP.

The middle-range drones are expected to be delivered by 2022, while the mini-UAVs are to be supplied to the Polish military by 2017.

Email: jadamowski@defensenews.com