Click to see full-size image. (X)
A Polish-made Tiguar M drone was shot down over Iran amid strikes by the United States, with Warsaw denying any involvement.
Photos showing the wreckage of the drone first surfaced online on July 19. It was reportedly shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces’ 48th Fath Brigade over the province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, in southwestern Iran.
The Tiguar M was developed by Polish technology company uAvionics to carry out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
The relatively small drone has an endurance exceeding 20 hours and an operational range of up to 1,800 kilometers. The one shot down over Iran was apparently equipped with a Starlink or Starshield satellite terminal, likely to maintain beyond-visual-range communication. The standard version of the drone has also been displayed with a satellite communication antenna.
Click to see full-size image. (X)
On July 21, Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz dismissed any links to the Tiguar M drone downed in Iran.
“No Polish drone has been sent to the Middle East,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said on X.
He stressed that Poland’s military equipment is intended for the country’s own defense and for fulfilling its commitments on NATO’s eastern flank, rejecting suggestions that Polish-operated drones were involved in the conflict in the Middle East.
The drone was most likely operated by the United States military. Green Berets from the U.S. Army’s 1st Special Forces Group tested Tiguar M drones during Exercise Balikatan 2026 in the Philippines between April 20 and 24, focusing in particular on their beyond-visual-range communications capabilities.
The latest incident indicates that the U.S. military is expanding its use of smaller, relatively inexpensive ISR platforms as an alternative to larger, costlier combat drones, which have been shot down regularly by Iranian air defenses.
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