Even as the Army abruptly cancelled a planned deployment to Poland earlier this year, the service is continuing to expand military cooperation with the country through the Pentagon’s counter-drone initiative, the Army announced on Wednesday.
The service touts the program as a way to help Washington and its allies purchase defense technology faster, as the U.S.-managed marketplace connects partner nations with emerging technology in an attempt to speed up slow procurement systems that have often lagged behind ever-changing threats.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Thursday posted a photo on social media with Poland’s Deputy Minister of National Defense, Paweł Zalewski, as he signed a statement of intent to join the initiative.
Australia and South Korea also agreed to enter the marketplace, the Army said this week, joining the United Kingdom and Romania as participants.
The platform allows allies access to interoperable capabilities and is run by the Pentagon’s Joint Interagency Task Force 401, which was established in 2025 to streamline counter-drone procurement.
“This partnership gives our allies and partners direct access to proven counter-drone technologies as we continue to expand the marketplace,” Maj. Matt Mellor, who is the lead acquisitions specialist for the task force, said in a statement. “Our mission includes working with international partners to aggregate demand for counter-drone capabilities,” he said.
The news comes as questions linger over the service’s decision to shelve a planned rotational deployment to Poland — a NATO ally bordering Ukraine and Belarus — shortly after the U.S. announced it was withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, another NATO ally.
The changes have sparked condemnation from members of Congress, who have criticized the message such a change in force posture sends to allies amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.
Read the full article here