Poland signed a contract for the purchase of Barbara balloons, which will be used to monitor the borders with Russia and Belarus.
This is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to the website of the Polish Ministry of Defense.
The Polish authorities have decided to purchase four Barbara reconnaissance balloons. The cost of which is estimated at 960 million dollars. They will be deployed along the eastern and northeastern borders of Poland.
Poland's Ministry of Defense notes that the Barbara balloons are capable of detecting missiles, aircraft, drones and floating objects in a radius of more than 300 km. Poland will be the first country in Europe to receive such reconnaissance balloons.
Note that Poland sent a request to the US for the purchase of balloons back in 2023, and the State Department approved it only in February 2024.
< p>Aerostats contain radars for scanning the airspace and the surface of the earth, onboard early warning radars with the ability to identify “own-alien”, as well as appropriate ground control systems.
They have an advantage over manned aircraft – in particular a longer stay in the air and the absence of a crew on board.