The sixth edition of one of the most important industry events - the Silesian Aviation and Drones Days - is behind us. This year’s meeting, held in Katowice at the headquarters of the SKYPORT Sectoral Skills Center, brought together representatives from industry, academia, public administration, and the defense sector, opening a new chapter in discussions about dual-use technologies. 

The first edition of the event in 2019 focused on strengthening cooperation among partners from the V4 region active in the aviation industry. Today, six years later, the Silesian Aviation and Drones Days have evolved into a dialogue on strategic directions for the development of aviation and unmanned technologies, combining civil and military perspectives. 

This year’s edition was organized by the Silesian Aviation Cluster in cooperation with, among others, the SKYPORT Sectoral Skills Center, the Employers’ Association Polish Clusters, and the Marshal’s Office of the Silesian Voivodeship. The event was co-financed from the budget of the Silesian Voivodeship Self-government. The meeting was opened by Halina Kasznia from the Katowice Vocational Improvement Center, and the host was Krzysztof Krystowski, President of the Silesian Aviation Cluster and the Employers’ Association Polish Clusters.

PANEL 1: The aviation industry as an example of dual-use industry and technology. 

Col. Wojciech Prokopowicz - Ministry of National Defence, Minister’s Office 

Krzysztof Krystowski - General Director, Northrop Grumman Poland 

Krzysztof Marugi - President of the Management Board, Avio Polska Sp. z o.o. 

Krzysztof Ruciński - Expert, Polish Investment and Trade Agency, Export Support Department Dr. Beata Lubos - Director of the Center for International Cooperation and Research Excellence, Łukasiewicz Institute of Aviation 

PANEL 2: Aviation, development of airport infrastructure, airports and terminals. Can new infrastructure support security? 

Krzysztof Wodarski - President, Upper Silesian Market Entrepreneurship Accelerator Ltd. (GAPR), Gliwice Airport 

Paweł Wojda - Director, Katowice “Wojciech Korfanty” International Airport in Pyrzowice 

Bogusław Holeksa - Proxy of the Management Board, Bielsko Aviation Technology Park, Kaniów Airport 

Paweł Rogosz - Finance Director, Central Communication Port 

Piotr Kowalski - Vice President, Silesian Aviation Cluster Association 

PANEL 3: Civil and military drones. New solutions, technologies, and applications. 

Zbigniew Matuszczak - Member of the Management Board, Director, Military Aviation Works No. 2 S.A. 

Jacek Woźnikowski - Director, Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis 

Marcin Szender - President, MSP InnTech 

Dawid Bielecki - Board Member, FLYTRONIC S.A. 

Michał Kuc - Head of Unmanned Platforms and Systems Team, Military Institute of Armament Technology

Marek Niechciał - Publicist, ZBiAM Publishing – Aviation International Monthly 

PANEL 4: The defense industry and its cooperation possibilities with civilian economic sectors (Silesian Aviation Cluster as the national coordinator of defense and civilian industry cooperation). 

Tomasz Szpikowski - President, Bergman Engineering 

Sławomir Kciuk - Development Director, Research and Development Center for Mechanical Devices “OBRUM” Ltd., PGZ Group 

Krzysztof Chmielarczyk - Expert, Strategy and Development Office, Polish Armaments Group S.A. 

Mirosław Burat - Manager for Defense Sector Development Support, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego 

Grzegorz Gałczyński - Managing Director, TIAS Trade 

PANEL 5: Innovations. Digitalization, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity.

Col. Grzegorz Jastrzębski - Command of the Cyber Defence Component of the Armed Forces

Col. PhD Eng. Mariusz Zieja - Military Technical Institute of Aviation 

Daniel Ładno - Aerospace & Defence Poland Global Client Executive, Dassault Systemes Poland 

Bartosz Peas - Director of Foreign Sales, GISS 

Dr. hab. Eng. Prof. Silesian University of Technology Anna Timofiejczuk - Department of Fundamentals of Machine Design - RMT6, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, Silesian University of Technology 

PANEL 6: Education, Research and Development in aviation – presentations from BCU Katowice, Radom, Silesian University of Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, Military University of Technology 

Dr. Beata Lubos - Director of the Center for International Cooperation and Research Excellence, Łukasiewicz Institute of Aviation 

Dr. Eng. Łukasz Kiszkowiak - Head of the Aviation Propulsion Research Laboratory, Faculty of Mechatronics, Armament and Aviation, Military University of Technology 

Anna Przybył - Director, SKYPORT Sectoral Skills Center 

Dr. hab. Eng. Jarosław Kozuba, Prof. Silesian University of Technology - Center for Training Aviation Personnel of Central and Eastern Europe, Silesian University of Technology 

Prof. Dr. hab. Wojciech Moczulski - Department of Fundamentals of Machine Design - RMT6, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, Silesian University of Technology 

During the conference, a remote speech was delivered by Deputy Minister of State Assets Konrad Gołota, who discussed the development of the Polish defense industry. We invite you to watch a short event summary: Event Summary The full event is available here: 6th Silesian Aviation and Drones Days We sincerely thank all participants, speakers, and moderators for their commitment and presence. 

We also extend our gratitude to our main partners, supporting partners, honorary patrons, media patrons, and institutions supporting the event.