Poland will send a military unit to Türkiye that uses Bayraktar TB2 drones as part of the NATO mission.

The General Staff of the Polish Army reported about this on its page on the social media X.

The deployment is part of the Tailored Assurance Measures for Türkiye (TAMT). The 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Base from Mirosławiec, which operates Bayraktar TB2 drones, will perform the task.

The main tasks of the Polish unit will be patrolling the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, as well as cooperation with NATO’s standing groups of naval forces.

The mission was launched in 2020 after the Turkish government appealed to NATO Allies for help and support in response to the deteriorating situation on the Syrian-Turkish border. Since then, units from various NATO countries have been deployed to Türkiye on a rotational basis to support the local armed forces.

In particular, Poland has already deployed a contingent to Türkiye as part of this mission in May 2021 for a period of 6 months. It consisted of 80 soldiers and an M28 Bryza patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.

Security measures to ensure safety

Since 2014, NATO has implemented the “Security Assurance Measures,” which include a number of land, sea, and air activities in and around the eastern part of the Alliance’s territory. It is noted that these “assurance measures” have no definite time frame and will last as long as necessary.

These measures include:

• the use of AWACS systems to monitor airspace;
• enhanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance along the eastern borders to improve understanding of the situation in the region;
• increased air patrols to complement national forces;
• assistance to countries in improving their special operations forces;
• use of maritime patrol aviation and permanent naval forces to ensure maritime security;
• conducting exercises and training along the eastern border to increase interoperability.

At the end of 2015, Allies agreed on a package of Special Assurance Measures for Türkiye (TAMT) in response to the growing security challenges on Türkiye’s borders due to the war in Syria.

These measures include:

• additional presence of AWACS systems in the region;
• increased maritime activity in the eastern Mediterranean;
• intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and information sharing.

The presence of Allies also provides ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) support and the use of patrol aircraft in the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea.

Activities supporting Türkiye are carried out from land, sea, and air in the eastern part of the Alliance’s territory.