One of the battalions of the 12th Mechanized Brigade is testing a new organizational structure – Model 44. The reduced number of the Rosomak wheeled APCs is to be compensated by providing the unit with large numbers of loitering munitions as well as reconnaissance and strike drones.

“They call me ‘Blind.’ I know, this nickname doesn’t exactly fit my job,” says the unmanned weapons systems operator, extending his hand in greeting. It is hard not to return his broad smile, since his occupation is all about seeing, scanning and looking around – oftentimes at very long distances. He views the image through FPV (First-Person View) goggles, with his perspective determined by a camera mounted on the drone. “Observation is not actually that easy,” he cautions. “We constantly have to contend with gravity and weather. We can only see what’s in front of us, wherever we point the drone,” he explains. Before he flew an FPV drone for real for the first time, he spent many hours on a simulator. Today, he is qualified as an instructor for micro-class UAVs and is working toward further qualifications that will allow him to train FPV operators. Until recently, he served in a motorized infantry company. “I used to run around the woods with a weapon and practice tactics,” ‘Blind’ recalls. He had already caught the drone bug earlier, so when he was given the opportunity to transfer to the new unit, he did not hesitate for a moment.

Not Everyone Can Become an Operator

That unit is one of the elements of Model 44, currently being tested in two Polish Armed Forces brigades – the 17th and the 12th. In Szczecin, the pilot program is being conducted by the 1st Motorized Infantry Battalion. The number in the program’s name is no coincidence. Until now, the battalion had four combat companies and 58 vehicles. Under the new structure, one company had its Rosomak armored personnel carriers withdrawn and was transformed into an Unmanned Weapons Systems Company (KBSU). As a result, there are 44 armored personnel carriers, but the battalion has received hundreds of drones and loitering munitions. “The fundamental objective is to increase reconnaissance and strike capabilities, as well as the commander’s situational awareness,” explains LtCol Tomasz Wierucki, the battalion commander. He and his troops now have FlyEye UAVs, Warmate loitering munitions, FPV drones, and reconnaissance microdrones at their disposal. The Model 44 pilot program at the Szczecin unit began in the autumn of 2025. In October, the unit’s table of employment organization was changed and personnel selection began. Most of the equipment arrived in December, and training started in January. Certification is scheduled for December 2026.

That’s the theory. In practice, the pilot program involved, among other things, building an entirely new company. “The old unit provided the formal foundation, but apart from the NCOs, its personnel changed almost completely,” says ‘Łachu,’ the company commander. Soldiers were brought in from various units across the brigade, with the search focused primarily on those who wanted to work with unmanned systems and had the appropriate aptitudes. “When working with FPV drones, coordination and manual dexterity matter, but so do spatial awareness, reflexes, and the ability to make quick decisions. Not everyone is suited to it,” the KBSU commander explains.

This did not, however, result in a company of computer gamers in uniform. “An operator still has to be able to shoot, remain physically fit, survive in the field, and perform other tasks. In fact, more is required of them than of some other soldiers,” LtCol Tomasz Wierucki emphasizes. Drone teams operate in a manner similar to reconnaissance units. Their members must select a position, camouflage it, carry out the mission, and relocate in good time. At the same time, they must maintain communications, recharge batteries, and provide all the support needed for subsequent flights. There is another challenge: the methods of employing drones cannot simply be learned once and for all. Experience from Ukraine clearly confirms this. “Tactics were different a year ago and different again six months ago. They are constantly evolving,” says LtCol Tomasz Wierucki. That is why, he stresses, soldiers also search for information on their own, experiment with new solutions, and then test them during training.

The Battalion’s Eyes and Fist

The FPV drones operate very close to friendly positions. Operators in Szczecin have already flown them to distances of up to 8 km. The small aircraft can be used for reconnaissance, but they can also carry payloads weighing from one to several kilograms. For now, the soldiers train with inert payloads whose weight corresponds to that of actual munitions. “With an additional payload, the drone behaves completely differently. It flies slower and is more susceptible to wind,” explains ‘Blind.’ Its range also changes, meaning that the operator has to consider not only the payload weight, but also the weather and conditions in which the mission is being conducted.

The FPV drones form the closest layer of the battalion’s unmanned system. The imagery reconnaissance platoon reaches much farther. Its primary tools are FlyEye UAVs. “Their effective range is 40 km, and their operational ceiling is 3,500 meters above sea level,” says the platoon commander who goes by ‘Bones.’ His unit has three systems, each consisting of four aircraft. Twelve UAVs, along with a sufficient number of rotating crews, make it possible to maintain round-the-clock surveillance. They are the battalion’s eyes and, importantly, they have already been tested in more than just training-ground conditions. The platoon’s crews rotate through missions on the Polish-Belarusian border. “On numerous occasions, they have detected groups of migrants, Belarusian Border Guard personnel, or military vehicles belonging to the Belarusian armed forces,” says ‘Bones.’

What FlyEye detects, the battalion – under wartime conditions – will attempt to destroy. One of the tools available for this purpose is Warmate, a loitering munition manufactured by WB Group. The platoon commanded by ‘Jensio’ has 150 strike platforms designed to destroy armored vehicles and fortified positions. Warmate can remain airborne for around an hour and operate at distances of up to 30 km. The battalion’s strike range therefore increases two-and-a-half-fold. Until now, it had been determined by the Rak self-propelled mortars, which can engage targets at distances of up to 12 km. “We can identify the target ourselves, or it can be designated for us by FlyEye or another reconnaissance element,” adds ‘Jensio.’ His soldiers have not yet carried out live strikes with Warmates. For now, they practice the procedure using training platforms: they select a target, proceed through the successive stages of an attack, and then abort the action immediately before impact, recovering the parachute-equipped aircraft on the ground. Every operator must regularly repeat these procedures, including on simulators.

Importantly, the position from which an attack is conducted does not have to be tied to a vehicle. All the equipment for two soldiers can be carried in backpacks: one with the platform, the other with the control station and remaining equipment. Each weighs approximately 10–12 kg. “We can drop off the operator and commander from a vehicle, they can move several kilometers on foot and carry out the attack,” says the NCO. This capability makes it easier not only to select a position, but also to conceal it. A vehicle is easier to detect than two soldiers operating in the field who can quickly relocate after completing their mission. FlyEye and Warmate can also work together in this configuration. Imagery from the reconnaissance UAV is transmitted to the strike-system crew, allowing the battalion’s eyes and fist to function as a single organism.

Two Minutes Instead of Ten

This is where the most important change that Model 44 is intended to bring to the battalion becomes apparent. It is not so much about the sheer number of drones, their range, or even the ability to strike targets at 25 or 30 km. In the traditional information flow, reports about a detected enemy would pass through successive levels of command. “By the time a report makes its way through the entire chain, much of the information is already outdated,” says LtCol Tomasz Wierucki. Now, the commander can receive imagery in near real time, assess the situation, decide whether to engage the target, and then observe the effects of the strike.

During the Exercise Brave Lynx 2026 (Dzielny Ryś) at Drawsko Pomorskie, the battalion tested some of these capabilities in practice. “We managed to reduce the time from detecting the enemy with a drone to opening fire to less than two minutes,” the commander emphasizes. Two minutes from locating a target to opening fire, compared with as much as ten minutes previously – this comparison best illustrates the true objective of the experiment.

Not everything is working as it should yet – but that is precisely the purpose of a pilot program: to find out what works and what does not. The FlyEye systems are currently transported in light utility vehicles, but these have proved too small. Trailers were considered, but that solution also failed to meet requirements, and the platoon is expected to switch to larger vehicles. Artificial intelligence, which in the final configuration is intended to support imagery analysis, is currently used only to a limited extent. For now, it is primarily a human operator who watches the video feed and identifies what the camera sees. Not all FPV operators are capable of performing the most complex maneuvers. “A few people could fly through a tank hatch without any trouble, but FPV drones are difficult to operate and we are still learning,” admits ‘Łachu.’ The battalion itself has not yet completed the experiment either. It still has integration exercises ahead of it. Ultimately, only the certification scheduled for December will determine which solutions should be retained and which should be changed.

One conclusion, however, is already emerging from the experience gained in Szczecin. Model 44 is not intended to replace Rosomak armored personnel carriers with drones. Its purpose is to ensure that the remaining Rosomaks and the infantry they carry enter combat against an enemy that has already been detected and identified and whose capabilities – if possible – have already been degraded. “A drone cannot seize and hold terrain. Terrain can only be controlled through the physical presence of forces capable of occupying and holding it,” says LtCol Tomasz Wierucki. An unmanned system makes it possible to see farther, strike earlier, and create better conditions for infantry to accomplish its mission. ‘Blind’ puts it even more simply: “We do one part of the job, and someone else does the other. We collect information and pass it on, and the infantry engages the enemy.” Until recently, he himself was serving in that infantry. Today, he watches over it from above.

The General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces is closely following the pilot programs conducted by the 12th and 17th Brigades. Following a preliminary assessment of the project in June, a decision was made to continue it. Model 44 has been included in the Development Program of the Polish Armed Forces for 2025–2039 as the target standardized structure for combat battalions.