Role & capabilities
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Reconnaissance aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Flytronic / WB GROUP
- Origin / production countries
- Poland
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- FT-5 IMINT; FT-5 ELINT; FT-5 SAR
- Operators / programme customers
- Poland — GLADIUS customer
Evidence & current status
Published performance is supplier-reported and configuration dependent; operational use does not independently validate every specification.
FT-5 is a reusable tactical reconnaissance aircraft developed within WB GROUP. The company describes configurations for imagery, electronic intelligence and synthetic-aperture radar. Its sensor role is distinct from the expendable BSP-U/WARMATE effectors in GLADIUS, the broader reconnaissance-and-strike system. Listing GLADIUS as if it were one airframe would conceal that important difference.
The published FT-5 brochure describes a twin-engine fixed-wing aircraft with automatic runway operation and a substantially larger airframe than FLYEYE. Manufacturer data quote ten-hour endurance and a 150 km radio line-of-sight link. These are brochure values for the specified configuration, not guarantees that every sensor fit achieves every maximum simultaneously.
WB presented an FT-5 SAR configuration at Enforce Tac in February 2026. It subsequently announced a Polish order for twelve additional GLADIUS battery-level units in June 2026. A battery-level unit contains multiple elements, so that figure must not be treated as twelve aircraft. This profile tracks the aircraft; vehicle, command-system and munition details belong to the associated programme record.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Fixed-wing tactical reconnaissance aircraft | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | Runway take-off and automatic landing | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Two independently controlled fuel-injected engines | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | 6.4 m span; 3.1 m length | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Mass | 85 kg brochure weight; precise mass definition not stated | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Up to 10 hours | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Range | 150 km radio line-of-sight | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | 5,000 m AMSL | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | EO/IR; SAR and electronic-intelligence variants | Manufacturer-published specification; maximum values are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Not established from the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
Publication history
- — Added a sourced global catalogue profile with configuration-specific data and explicit evidence limits.
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Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- FT-5 brochure, 2021 configuration (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- FT-5 SAR exhibition announcement, 2026 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- GLADIUS procurement, 1 June 2026 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme