British subsidiary of a European consortium MBDA will sell Poland surface-to-air missiles in a deal totaling around £1.9bn ($2.4bn), the British government and the Polish State Ordnance Agency (AU) announced today.

MBDA is proud to sign a £1.9 billion contract to supply CAMM and iLaunchers for Poland’s PILICA+ air defense modernization program, the largest short-range air defense project among European NATO countries. 1/6#MBDA #PolandDefense #SAW+ pic.twitter.com/fiJOKOWcww

— MBDA (@MBDAGroup) April 28, 2023

“I am delighted that defense ties between the UK and Poland have taken another step forward with the signing of the UK’s largest ever arms export agreement to Poland,” Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement.

The Polish state agency AU explained that “ MBDA UK will supply Poland with 44 iLauncher launchers and several hundred CAMM surface-to-air missile systems and related equipment”, which, according to a press release from MBDA, “is the largest short-range air defense (equipment) acquisition program in Europe within NATO”.

According to AS,the order amount is approximately 1.9 billion pounds. Deliveries of military equipment will take place from 2025 to 2029.“.

The UK government said the contract will create over 500 jobs at MBDA UK.

Launchers and missiles will be installed on 22 complexes of the Polish Pilica + air defense program.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the deal a “significant boost to Euro-Atlantic security” in a statement, noting that Poland was already using KAMM MBDA.

“They have already been deployed to Poland along with the British military to protect its airspace after Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine last year,” Downing Street reported.

For his part, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blazak emphasized in a Twitter post that the agreement would “strengthen Poland’s air defense capabilities.”

Track track with PILICA+ program. Signature umowy na dostawę wyrzutni #iLauncher i pociskow #KAMM oraz przeciwlotniczych missile and artillery systems PSR-A #SAW. For the rapid growth of the power of the goal powiertsnych rażenia to increase the power of polskiej obrony powietrzejnej. pic.twitter.com/2SO731ag2P

— Mariusz Blaszczak (@mblaszczak) April 28, 2023

The French company Airbus and the British BAE Systems each own 37.5% of the shares of MBDA, and the remaining 25% belong to the Italian Leonardo.

Last year, London, Warsaw and Kyiv agreed to develop a trilateral partnership, strengthening their defense capabilities and NATO’s eastern flank.

Poland, a former member of the Warsaw Pact, invested more than 2.4% of its GDP in defense last year, according to a NATO report, placing it third in defense spending among NATO member states, behind only Greece (3.76% of GDP). ). and the USA (3.47%).

Poland’s military spending is expected to reach 3% of Polish GDP this year.

Ukraine, a member of the EU and NATO, Poland, bordering Ukraine, is one of the main political and military supporters of Ukraine fighting against the Russian invasion. Warsaw has announced a major arms program because of the Russian threat and has recently signed major military contracts, notably with the US and South Korea.

The contracts concluded with the Americans concern 32 combat aircraft F-35366 main battle tanks Abrams and anti-missile systems Patriotand those with South Korea are about a thousand tanks K2about 700 self-propelled howitzers, 50 FA-50s and 288 K239 multiple rocket launchers.

Warsaw also signed an agreement with Ankara on the purchase of Turkish Bayraktar drones.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters, AFP.