Poland is set to purchase British surface-to-air missiles in order to strengthen its air defences, in response to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Poland’s Defence Ministry has signed a contract with MBDA UK, the British subsidiary of the pan-European missile systems producer, to purchase Common Anti-Air Modular Missiles (CAMMs) and launchers for the Polish Army. The agreement was signed by the Ministry’s Armaments Agency (AU).
AU and MBDA have signed a contract to supply Poland with 44 iLaunchers and hundreds of CAMM missiles as part of the PILICA+ air defence upgrade programme. The deal, which is set to run from 2025 to 2029, was announced by Krzysztof Platek, a spokesman for AU, via Twitter on Friday.
On Friday, MBDA announced the signing of a GBP 1.9 billion (EUR 2.16 bln) agreement with Poland to modernise and produce a total of 22 PILICA+ air defence batteries. This deal marks the largest European short-range air defence acquisition programme in NATO.
The system, which was designed in the UK, is said to be effective at long-range defence. MBDA has announced that its British-designed defence system is capable of engaging air and missile targets from up to 25 kilometres away.
Commenting on the deal, Mariusz Blaszczak, Poland’s defence minister, wrote on Twitter: “Another step in the PILICA+ programme. This is a step-up in the ability to strike air targets and increase the capabilities of Polish air defence.”
The British defence minister, Ben Wallace, said in a statement on Friday that he was delighted that the UK and Poland’s deep and historic defence ties took another step forward with the signing of the largest-ever UK defence export deal with Poland.
The PILICA and PILICA+ anti-aircraft systems have been designed to protect airports and military groups against unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, airplanes and cruise missiles. With a range of up to five kilometres, these short-range defence systems are an asset to the Patriot missile batteries, providing a direct defence against airborne threats.