WARSAW, Poland — Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak has signed a deal under which the country’s military will get a short-range, air-defense system using MBDA’s Common Anti-air Modular Missile, or CAMM, this year.
With Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine continuing to stir Poland’s defense posture, Warsaw decided to accelerate the procurement.
The news marks a significant shift from the ministry’s earlier plans under which the Polish military was to secure the system in 2027, according to earlier announcements by officials.
“We draw lessons from what is happening across our eastern border,” Błaszczak said during the official signing ceremony on April 14. “We see how important is the role played … by air-defense, anti-aircraft defense. This is why we significantly accelerated the delivery of the Narew short-range air-defense system to the Polish military.”
A consortium led by Poland’s state-run defense giant PGZ will serve as the integrator of the new system, dubbed Narew, cooperating with the European group which will supply the necessary technology.
“As part of the deal’s implementation, two fire modules of a short-range air-defense system will be acquired, of which the first will be delivered to the Polish Armed Forces this September. The second fire unit will be delivered on the turn of 2022 and 2023,” the ministry said in a statement.
A spokesperson for MBDA confirmed to Defense News the new delivery schedule presented by the Polish Ministry of National Defence.
The ministry did not immediately disclose the value of the deal.
Under the plan, Poland’s new short-range air-defense system is to complement the two Patriot Configuration 3+ batteries the country is to secure this year under the Wisla mid-range, air-defense program.
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
