The Autonomous Systems Centre (OSA) is a science-and-industry consortium established on 19 March 2026 whose main task is to coordinate cooperation between the military, the scientific sector and the defence industry in the field of unmanned and autonomous systems. The centre was created by military research institutes, the IDEAS Research Institute and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa S.A., with the Air Force Institute of Technology (ITWL) taking the role of project leader; the agreement was signed at ITWL's headquarters in Warsaw, and the Minister of National Defence designated Col. Mariusz Zieja, professor at ITWL, to head OSA. Its aim is to shorten the path from research, through testing, to mass production of equipment for the armed forces – including aerial and ground drones – drawing on lessons from the war in Ukraine. This is an umbrella record for Polish drone and counter-drone programmes; it does not aggregate their value, which is counted by separate child records (e.g. SAN, Gladius, FlyEye, Warmate). The Ministry of National Defence steadily increased spending on unmanned systems: about PLN 100 million in 2023, PLN 300 million in 2024 and PLN 700 million in 2025. For 2026 the ministry announced (a "drone superhighway") contracts for drones, unmanned, autonomous and anti-drone systems worth about PLN 25 billion – an announced full-year aggregate of contracts, not the cost of OSA itself.
How it went
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Timeline
- AnnouncedMar 2026
- Construction startMar 2026
Significance
OSA is intended to integrate the potential of military research institutes, the defence industry and innovative start-ups in order to accelerate the design and production of drones and anti-drone systems – one of the key capabilities of the modern battlefield, as the war in Ukraine has shown. By bringing together Polish institutes, the IDEAS Research Institute and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa under ITWL leadership and MON oversight, the centre is to act as a national contact point for entities developing autonomous technologies and to shorten the time from research to mass production. In this way the programme strengthens Poland's national competencies and technological sovereignty in the area of unmanned systems.
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- Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej (gov.pl)19 Mar 2026StatusInvestorCostFunding
StatusOSA startuje. OSA, czyli Ośrodek Systemów Autonomicznych, łączący umiejętności i zdolności instytutów wojskowych, instytutów badawczych, wojska oraz naszego przemysłu zbrojeniowego - Polskiej Grupy Zbrojeniowej.
InvestorOśrodek został utworzony przez wojskowe instytuty badawcze, Instytut Badawczy IDEAS oraz Polską Grupę Zbrojeniową S.A., przy czym rolę lidera projektu objął Instytut Techniczny Wojsk Lotniczych.
CostZakładamy, że na drony, systemy bezzałogowe, systemy autonomiczne oraz systemy antydronowe przeznaczymy około 25 miliardów złotych, jeżeli chodzi o umowy, które podpiszemy w tym roku
FundingW 2023 roku Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej przeznaczyło na systemy bezzałogowe około 100 milionów złotych. W roku 2024, czyli w pierwszym roku naszych rządów, było to już 300 milionów złotych. W roku 2025 – 700 milionów złotych.
- Instytut Techniczny Wojsk Lotniczych (ITWL)20 Mar 2026AnnouncedConstruction start
Announced · Construction start19 marca 2026 roku w Instytucie Technicznym Wojsk Lotniczych odbyło się uroczyste podpisanie umowy powołującej Ośrodek Systemów Autonomicznych (OSA)
- Polska Agencja Prasowa (PAP)