Kongsberg to build new plant in Poland for counter-drone systems

The news that Kongsberg is establishing a counter-drone production facility in northern Poland is more than a single company's expansion. It is a signal that the counter-UAS market has matured from urgent, ad-hoc purchases into a structural, long-term demand that primes are willing to underwrite with bricks and mortar. Poland, which has become NATO's most active buyer of defense equipment on its eastern flank, is an obvious choice. But the decision also reflects a broader recognition: the drone threat is not going away, and the systems to defeat it must be produced closer to where they are needed.

Counter-drone systems have evolved rapidly over the past decade. Early efforts relied on jamming or shooting down hobbyist drones. Today's threat includes military-grade loitering munitions, fixed-wing reconnaissance UAVs, and swarms that can overwhelm single-layer defenses. A modern counter-UAS architecture typically combines radar and RF detection, electro-optical/infrared sensors for identification, electronic warfare for soft-kill, and kinetic options such as guns, missiles, or directed-energy weapons. Kongsberg's portfolio includes remote weapon stations and command-and-control software, and it has been integrating counter-drone capabilities into those systems. Producing them in Poland would allow faster delivery to Polish and other regional customers, and it would satisfy Warsaw's push for local industrial participation.

Poland has been explicit about building a domestic defense industrial base. Its own arms conglomerate, PGZ, has partnered with foreign primes on everything from tanks to air defense. Kongsberg's plant would likely involve local suppliers and assembly, creating jobs and technical skills. For NATO, this is a step toward reducing reliance on U.S. production for critical systems. The U.S. remains the largest supplier of counter-drone technology, but European demand has surged since 2022, and European primes are racing to capture it. Kongsberg, already a major player in missile and remote weapon systems, is positioning itself as a full-spectrum counter-UAS provider. The plant also aligns with EU efforts to boost defense industrial capacity through programs like the European Defence Fund and the Act in Support of Ammunition Production, though counter-drone systems are not always covered by those initiatives.