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US Special Forces test Polish Tiguar M drone to improve South China Sea coverage during Balikatan 2026

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...

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)



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