The system, developed by Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarnów around the company’s four-barrel 12.7 mm WLKM machine gun, has been presented as a short-range, “hard kill” solution aimed at small drones and loitering munitions, a threat category that has grown on the battlefields of Ukraine, and is a major consideration along NATO’s eastern flank.
In an interview with broadcaster Radio Kraków, a representative of Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarnów said tests have already taken place at the Ustka training range and described the firm as preparing for higher output, including increased hiring and plans to launch a third production shift.
The “Monster of Tarnów” combines a sensor and operator loop with a Gatling-style machine gun with an adjustable rate of fire from 250 to 3,600 round-per-minute, reflecting the basic reality of counter-drone defence: the target first has to be detected and identified before it can be engaged.
The system can be operated remotely, and is capable of fully automated target tracking and acquisition. It is equipped with both visible light and thermal cameras and a laser rangefinder.
Poland's defence ministry has been signalling a wider, policy-driven acceleration in this field.
Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said in early November that Poland will not wait for the European Union’s proposed “drone wall” concept and instead plans to build a national counter-drone system, with the first elements expected within three months of launch and the full capability within two years.
He also said the ministry wants Polish companies to secure at least half of the contracts, and argued that effective counter-drone defence must be “comprehensive,” combining sensors and multiple “effectors” that work together.
A key institutional change behind that push is the creation, since January 2025, of the Inspectorate for Unmanned Weapon Systems within the General Command of the Armed Forces, headed by Brig. Gen. Mirosław Bodnar.
In late-November, public remarks to a parliamentary defence committee, Tomczyk described counter-drone systems as a "new layer" being built into Poland’s broader air defence architecture and said the government is close to finalising a major programme in this area, while also stressing the importance of relying on domestic solutions.
At the same time, Poland is trying to convert battlefield lessons into a homegrown innovation pipeline.
Defence ministry communications in mid-2025 described the establishment of drone laboratories in selected units - tasked with assembly, modification and servicing, including via 3D printing - and said around 90 types of equipment were to be tested across selected units to speed up learning and deployment.
In Warsaw, the defence ministry is now framing counter-drone capability as both a procurement sprint and an innovation policy.
The planned SAN programme (named after Poland’s San River) is being presented by Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk as a dedicated, new “layer” of Poland’s air-defence architecture focused specifically on drones—filling a gap below high-end systems such as Patriot and alongside short-range programmes like Narew/Pilica as Warsaw tries to build a more complete, layered shield.
At the same time, the ministry says it will establish an Autonomous Systems Centre (OSA), envisaged as a Warsaw-based hub with a national footprint that links military units, research institutes, and industry/startups and acts as an "accelerator" for new autonomous and unmanned solutions, including drones and counter-drone tools.
The push is backed by regulatory changes aimed at speeding up military testing and acquisition of drones and anti-drone systems.
Poland’s counter-drone story is also becoming an industrial partnership story.
In July, Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and Poland’s Advanced Protection Systems announced a teaming agreement to jointly develop and deliver counter-unmanned aerial systems solutions combining radars, sensor fusion, command and control, with both kinetic and non-kinetic response options.
This is an approach aligned with Warsaw’s emphasis on layered defence and interoperability on NATO’s eastern flank.
Finally, Poland’s broader air defence modernisation continues to form the backdrop for drone defence, with the Pilica short-range air defence programme receiving its first deliveries of CAMM missiles and launchers from Europe's multinational missile maker MBDA in early September - another sign of a layered model in which dedicated counter-drone systems are expected to plug into a wider national network rather than operate as isolated point solutions.
Together, these moves suggest Poland is treating the drone threat less as a niche problem and more as a central, fast-moving contest of cost, speed and scale, where systems such as the “Monster of Tarnów” provide a visible domestic “hard kill” option, while strategic and infrastructure undertakings such as SAN and OSA aim to build the sensor networks, procurement pathways and an innovation ecosystem needed to keep pace with rapidly evolving drone tactics.
(rt/gs)