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The Polish Battle Duck Drone That Turned Out To Be a Swan
Sometimes you see something so odd and absurd that sheer morbid curiosity demands a deeper investigation.
That was the case when I spotted this ungainly drone dressed up as a duck, er, I mean, a Swan. I don’t know what it is, actually. But I know it will haunt my dreams for weeks.
When you go to a major defense expo, you expect to see sleek armored vehicles with more chrome than a 1950s Cadillac and drones that look like they flew straight out of a sci-fi movie. What you do not expect is… a robot swan. Yet that is exactly what Poland unveiled at MSPO 2025: the Kaczka, a covert amphibious drone disguised as a graceful waterfowl.
Somewhere, a committee said “yes” to this.
And I love it.
I also hate it.
A Swan in Duck’s Clothing
The Polish Kaczka drone is what happens when military engineering collides with waterfowl cosplay. The head of the decoy hides a camera, giving the bird a cyclops mechanical eye.
From a few hundred meters away, it might pass as just another lazy swan floating on a pond. Up close, though, it looks less like nature and more like a taxidermy project from hell, with seams, antennas, and a distinctly non-avian undercarriage.
