Industry and Polish Armaments officials sign off on the PILICA+ air defense contract. (MBDA)
BELFAST — Poland has struck a landmark agreement with the UK to acquire MBDA CAMM missiles and iLaunchers to equip 22 PILICA+ air defense batteries, as it continues a major military spending spree to deter Russian aggression.
The £1.9 billion ($2.4 billion) contract, signed April 28, was hailed by the manufacturer as the “largest European short-range air defence acquisition programme in NATO,” and follows “months of close collaboration” between Warsaw and London, according to the UK Prime Minister’s Office.
Manufactured by Poland’s state owned PGZ, The PILICA+ triple layer air defense system will be integrated with MBDA’s CAMM short-range radar-guided missiles, a Polish-made autocannon and very-short range infrared guided missiles, said MBDA in a company statement. It will also act as the “inner tier” of an integrated Polish air defense network supported by WISLA (upper tier) and NAREW (mid-tier) systems.
CAMM can engage air threats out to a range of 25 kilometers and is designed to protect high-value, mobile assets. Poland already uses the missile after receiving a first battery in 2022 to fulfill an urgent requirement known as mała (small) NAREW, added MBDA. CAMM has already entered service with the UK Royal Navy and British Army. PGZ announced in March 2022 that it had delivered the first serial production PILICA system to Poland’s 35th Air Defense Missile Squadron.
The PILICA+ deal further strengthens Polish and UK defense cooperation which has recently seen the two sides collaborate on the procurement of three Arrowhead 140 frigates and jointly sign an Air Defence Complex Weapons Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in October 2022. The UK MoD said at the time that the weapons MoU would provide UK support for Poland’s Narew air defense system.
Poland has embarked on an extraordinary spending spree since Russia invaded Ukraine with officials touting attempts to procure new equipment using “suitcases with money.”
Other moves to upgrade air defense capabilities have already led to investment in the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and procurement of additional Patriot missile systems.
Other orders have been signed off at a steady pace, including 96 AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters, 1,000 K2 main battle tanks, 672 K9 self-propelled howitzers, and 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft.
Sharing a border with Ukraine, Poland is acutely aware of the possibility of being dragged into a conflict, especially after what was later determined to most likely be a Ukrainian air defense missile landing in Polish territory in November, killing two civilians.
Cybersecurity across domains for multi-domain operations webinar
On-demand webinar examining the latest trends and challenges in cybersecurity.
France would support Lebanese Armed Forces in southern border security mission: Official
A French official told Breaking Defense that Paris “must be ready” to aid Beirut should it attempt a historic deployment to secure Lebanon’s southern border, where Hezbollah could play spoiler.
