On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, in Warsaw, MBF Group and Rohde & Schwarz Polska signed a letter of intent on strategic technological cooperation during the Rohde & Schwarz Open Days. The letter of intent constitutes a continuation and expansion of a previously concluded non-disclosure and non-circumvention agreement and sets out the framework for further discussions and analyses regarding potential technological cooperation on the Iryda Plus and Mallard projects.
Photos: Jakub Link-Lenczowski, MILMAG
The letter of intent covers the use of Rohde & Schwarz solutions in the areas of secure tactical communications, radio spectrum monitoring, electromagnetic-domain situational awareness, electromagnetic resilience of systems, as well as test and measurement technologies supporting the validation and certification of advanced uncrewed systems. The detailed scope of cooperation, including the division of roles, activity schedules, financial arrangements, and intellectual property rules, will be defined in the near future.
The signing of the letter of intent aligns with a long-term strategy to build an ecosystem of technology partners for the Iryda Plus and Mallard projects, encompassing internationally established entities capable of supporting these projects during development, testing, certification, and potential commercialization in foreign markets.
The MILMAG editorial team, present at the signing, learned that Rohde & Schwarz Polska’s involvement in the project is expected to focus primarily on integrating encrypted, jam-resistant communications systems between the ground control station and uncrewed platforms. It was emphasized, however, that the letter of intent also opens the door to discussions on the possible implementation of other Rohde & Schwarz technologies, as well as the potential application of uncrewed technologies developed in Poland for the company’s German headquarters, offering joint solutions on international markets.
Iryda Plus is a project implemented by MBF Group in cooperation with Squadron and the Polish Industrial Lobby named after Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski. The project aims to develop Europe’s first C-UAS (counter-uncrewed aerial systems) hard-kill interceptor drone, designed to counter drone swarms and loitering munitions.
The technical assumptions of Iryda Plus include a maximum/intercept speed of 250–280 km/h, a cruise/patrol speed of 180–200 km/h, a minimum speed of 50–60 km/h, endurance of 8–10 hours, and a payload capacity of 15–20 kg. Armament is to consist of a 7.62 mm rifle mounted in a 360° rotating turret, supported by an AI-assisted TAS (Target–Aim–Shot) system.
Mallard, in turn, is a cargo uncrewed aerial system (Cargo UAV) project intended for civilian and commercial applications. It предусматри the development of the Small Mallard (Mallard-S) with a payload capacity of up to 300 kg, as well as the Large Mallard with a payload of up to 1 tonne and a range of up to 3,000 km.
Additional partners of MBF Group include the Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering at the Warsaw University of Technology, the company Franklin, and Ukraine’s Lviv Polytechnic National University.
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