M ILAN — Canada and Poland are deepening their military-industrial ties through a new agreement that will leverage the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative to fund joint projects.
The Letter of Intent was signed on Tuesday by the Canadian National Defense Minister, David J. McGuinty, and his Polish counterpart, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, during the latter’s visit to Ottawa.
“Minister McGuinty highlighted opportunities to strengthen bilateral defense industrial cooperation, including collaboration under SAFE, potential joint projects involving emerging technologies, and talks on the establishment of ammunition production capacity in Canada,” a statement from the Canadian Department of National Defense, said.
In December, Canada became the only non-European country to gain entry into the €150 billion SAFE defense borrowing and procurement scheme.
The new preliminary document, the first of its kind to be signed between the two countries, further outlines Ottawa’s planned procurement of Polish-made drones, according to Poland’s state-owned news agency Polska Agencja Prasowa.
The national media outlet quoted Kosiniak-Kamysz as stating after the signing ceremony that the purchase would involve the “best Polish equipment,” including the Warmate loitering munition, the FlyeEye mini-drones, and the Gladius strike and reconnaissance drones — all manufactured by the Polish company WB Group.
In March, Ottawa rolled out a $900 million investment plan as part of the country’s new Defence Industrial Strategy, in part to create a new drone innovation hub. The approach is based on a ‘build, partner, buy’ model that seeks to manufacture military equipment locally.
No further details were provided regarding the setup of the ammunition production capacity in Canada mentioned in the agreement, including whether it would be done through a joint venture with Polish companies or a licensed arrangement.
Over the winter, Canada also announced a $1.4 billion plan to expand its domestic ammunition production capacity, including over $300 million to build new manufacturing facilities for 155mm artillery shells in partnership with Ontario-based company IMT Precision.