Poland’s Ministry of Defense will procure two observation satellites from French Airbus, the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna (DGP) newspaper reported on Tuesday.
In June, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak announced the plan to acquire two observation satellites from the French partners. According to a press report, the negotiations took longer than expected but the contract is due to be signed in the coming weeks.
All details regarding acquiring and functioning of observation satellites with the receiving station in Poland will be specified in the contract, spokesman of the Armaments Agency Lieutenant Colonel Krzysztof Płatek told the daily.
Negotiations with Airbus revolve around two topics. First, Poland wants to acquire satellites that will be able to provide high-quality photographs allowing for identifying infrastructure and vehicles of a potential enemy with ease. One pixel is to show a 30 square centimeter part of Earth’s surface, which will allow images that reveal the silhouettes of people but not what they are holding, for example.
The second topic is future Polish-French government cooperation regarding “reconnaissance based on electromagnetic radiation and satellite communication.” The paper believes that this cooperation will include the use of six Airbus Pléiades and Pléiades Neo satellites.
Acquiring its own satellites involves a number of bureaucratic requirements on the Polish government. “Space agencies need to be informed, frequencies in the International Telecommunication Union need to be acquired, and the satellite need to be registered in the U.N.,” points out DGP.
