U.S. Special Forces tested the Polish-made Tiguar M drone during Exercise Balikatan 2026 in northern Luzon, as reported by PolSOF on May 23, highlighting a growing push to expand persistent ISR and communications coverage across the Luzon Strait and South China Sea approaches. The deployment is operationally significant because the Tiguar M fills a capability gap inside current U.S. SOF drone inventories by combining more than 20 hours of endurance with beyond-line-of-sight SATCOM capability in a lightweight platform suited for dispersed maritime operations near Taiwan and the First Island Chain. Read full defense news at this link...
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| The most operationally significant feature observed during Balikatan was the apparent SATCOM-equipped configuration installed on at least one Tiguar M operating from Laoag, which allows drone control and ISR transmission independently of local relay chains. (Picture source: US DoD) |