Poland to arm M28 Bryza aircraft for hunting drones
AI Analysis
Poland is adapting its M28 Bryza light transport aircraft for counter-UAS missions, mirroring successful tactics employed by Ukraine using similar An-28 aircraft. The planned modifications include mounting barrel weapons and potentially underwing interceptor drones, leveraging lessons learned in active combat scenarios. A contract with PZL Mielec is pending to initiate the program.
Key Takeaways
- Poland will arm M28 Bryza aircraft with barrel weapons for counter-drone operations.
- The program is based on Ukrainian experience utilizing An-28 aircraft with side-mounted machine guns and interceptor drones.
- Ukrainian tactics involved interceptor drones launched from the cargo bay to engage drones from the rear.
- PZL Mielec, the Polish manufacturer, provides Poland with independent modification capabilities.
- Poland possesses several dozen M28 aircraft available for conversion.
Why It Matters
This development demonstrates a shift towards utilizing existing transport aircraft for dedicated counter-UAS roles, offering a cost-effective solution compared to specialized platforms. Poland's adoption of Ukrainian tactics highlights the practical effectiveness of this approach in a contested environment, and the domestic production capability reduces reliance on foreign suppliers for critical defense modifications.
Poland to arm M28 Bryza aircraft for hunting drones
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Poland to arm M28 Bryza aircraft for hunting drones
May 12, 2026
Modified date: May 12, 2026
Photo by Jon Rasmussen
Key Points
- Major General Ireneusz Nowak confirmed Poland will arm M28 Bryza aircraft with barrel weapons for counter-drone missions after a contract with PZL Mielec is signed, per Defence24.
- The program builds on Ukrainian An-28 combat experience that included side-mounted machine guns and underwing interceptor drones to destroy kamikaze UAVs in flight.
Poland is arming its M28 Bryza light transport aircraft for drone combat, with the first prototype set for modification to carry barrel weapons after a contract between the Armed Forces Support Inspectorate and the executing contractor is signed, according to Major General Ireneusz Nowak, who disclosed the program at the Defence24 Days conference during a panel titled “How to achieve air dominance?”
General Nowak confirmed that a similar solution was successfully tested in Ukraine and described the results as very promising, according to Defence24’s reporting from the conference.
The Ukrainian precedent involved armed An-28 aircraft, direct ancestors of the considerably more modern M28 Bryza, which were filmed pulling alongside heavy kamikaze drones in flight and destroying them with multi-caliber side-mounted machine gun fire. Video footage later emerged showing An-28s additionally carrying interceptor drones under their wings, with a combined payload of six to ten units. In those engagements, the aircraft would position behind the target drone while maintaining a slightly higher altitude by a distance of roughly ten to several tens of meters, and an operator seated in the cargo bay would then launch a kamikaze interceptor drone that struck the target from the rear hemisphere. General Nowak indicated that similar or other effectors may be implemented on Polish Bryza aircraft as well, Defence24 reported.
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PZL Mielec, the Polish manufacturer that produces the M28, is the only producer of the type, giving Poland direct access to all relevant technology, modernization pathways, and modification capabilities that a foreign-designed airframe would not provide, according to the Defence24 panel report. Several dozen M28 aircraft remain in Polish service at various technical levels, including digitally equipped aircraft and modern Glass Cockpit variants.
The domestic ownership of the production line eliminates the dependency on foreign approval, licensing, or engineering support that has complicated modification programs for other Polish aircraft types. Notably, when Poland purchased M28s from the then-American-owned PZL Mielec plant roughly fifteen years ago, critics questioned the rationale for acquiring so many small short-takeoff-and-landing transport aircraft. The current armed drone-hunting mission provides an answer that those critics did not an