“The initiative taken by the Department of Military Education of the Ministry of National Defense in 2020, with the support of Military University of Technology, was and remains a kind of novelty in the area of ​​design competitions dedicated to students, young workers and soldiers. The purpose of the competition is not only to award the authors of the best projects, but also to inspire and encourage the search for innovative solutions for the security and defense of the state, to build awareness and interest students and doctoral students of military universities in the subject of unmanned systems (...). I am convinced that the results of the competition - the awarded projects - will not only remain symbols of technical thought, but will find recognition and development opportunities for the Polish Armed Forces, which we will also strive for." - emphasized the Rector-Commandant of Military University of Technology, Brig. Gen. prof. dr hab. inż. Przemyslaw Wachulak.

Participants could submit their work individually or as a team. This year, 40 project concepts were submitted, of which 25 were qualified for the second stage. A total of 23 projects were implemented with the financial support of the Ministry of National Defence. The subject of the competition concerned issues related to technologies, techniques and engineering used in the design and construction of devices, subsystems and systems used in air, land or sea unmanned platforms and related control and control stations.

The submitted projects were awarded in four categories: unmanned operational and reconnaissance systems, combat systems, loitering munitions and support.

Unmanned operational and reconnaissance systems

In this category, projects were assessed in terms of the ability to detect, recognize and track an object or target, as well as the ability to monitor and control the area of ​​interest. The first place was won by the  "Tiger" project from the Military University of Technology. The authors of the project are Mikołaj Jagiełło - the leader, Jędrzej Juchniewicz, Antoni Bryk, Tymoteusz Roniak and Paweł Klukowski. The second place was taken by the project "SUM" developed by students of the Military University of Technology: Damian Rutkowski - leader and senior corporal cadet Konrad Mikszewicz.

In this category, awards were also given to other projects of MUT students for the projects: "Bożenka", "Mars", "Andrzej", "Teddy bear", "Boar" and "Thunder".

Combat unmanned systems

Among the works assessed in terms of the possibility of carrying and using munitions and means of destruction, the "Stricker-1" project by students from our University turned out to be unrivaled. The main prize was won by the team leader, 2nd Lt. mgr inż. Artur Klosinski, cadets: Radoslaw Jurecki, Jakub Bekasiński, Mikołaj Odziemek and Mark Rybarczyk.

Unmanned loitering munitions

The third place was taken by the "Rzutka" project developed by the leader Przemysław Koszałka, Jakub Djabin and Jakub Kochan from the Military University of Technology.

Unmanned support systems

Projects were assessed in terms of the possibility of evacuation, delivery of ammunition, equipment, medical supplies and food to forward positions of own troops. The first place was awarded to the "Weasel" project, which was developed by WAT soldiers – Lt. Dariusz Kalinko (leader) and Capt. Marcin Dejewski.

The second prize also went to the team of our Academy composed of: inż. Aneta Misiak – leader, inż. Maciej Jaskolski, inż. Adam Marut, Wiktor Marzec and cadet inż. Tomasz Okoń, for the "Stefan-1" project.

The third place was also taken by a project from the Military University of Technology: the "Platform 8" system was developed by inż. Szymon Kwiecień.

The prizes were presented to the teams by the Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Defense Wojciech Skurkiewicz. The project leaders that took first place were awarded by the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak on November 29, 2022 during the ceremony at the Belweder Palace on the occasion of the 192nd anniversary of the outbreak of the November Uprising and Cadet Day.

Wojciech Skurkiewicz, Secretary of State of the Ministry of National Defence, who participated in the ceremony, referred to the beginnings of the competition in his statement. “When two years ago, Prime Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and I were wondering how to use this huge potential of our military universities, lecturers, but above all students and doctoral students, we came to the conclusion that an important element will be a competition addressed to people who have an open mind and approach to the innovative advantages of modern armaments. (…) I have to admit that your creativity has once again surpassed all expectations. Our goal in the competition is to ensure that these projects, which are currently in the initial phase, will be used by the Polish Army in the future, and perhaps also become an export hit of the Polish defense industry,” said the minister. At the end, he thanked the rectors of military universities, experts evaluating the projects and congratulated the winners of the competition.

The awards ceremony took place on December 8, 2022 in Military university of Technology in Warsaw.

Ewa Jankiewicz,

Paulina Arciszewska-Siek

tłumacz. Anna Pęzioł

fot. Alicja Szulc