MBDA wins landmark Polish air defence contract
Image courtesy MBDA
In total, MBDA will provide missiles and missile launchers valued at £1.9 billion to support Poland’s modernisation and manufacture of a total of 22 PILICA+ air defence batteries – making it the largest European short-range air defence acquisition programme in NATO.
Designed by PGZ, PILICA+ will combine MBDA’s CAMM short-range radar-guided missiles with Polish-made autocannon and very-short range infrared guided missiles into a triple-layer system commanded by a Polish command and control system and guided by Polish radars. PILICA+ will operate as the inner tier of a highly-capable integrated Polish air defence network also including the upper-tier WISLA system and mid-tier NAREW system, which MBDA is also supporting with PGZ.
Chris Allam, Managing Director of MBDA UK, said: “We are deeply proud that Poland is placing CAMM at the core of their layered air defence systems. This landmark Polish-UK cooperation will provide a major boost to Poland’s air defence capabilities and bring our defence industries closer together, enabling sovereignty and supporting jobs in both countries.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: "We have played a crucial role in boosting Euro-Atlantic defences since Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine and this landmark agreement between the UK and Poland is another example of how, alongside our allies, we are committed to protecting our security for generations to come.
"As well as bolstering European air defences, this £1.9 billion deal will also support highly skilled jobs in both countries, delivering on my pledge to grow the economy, and creating better paid jobs and opportunity right across the UK."
CAMM, with its multi-channel, radar-guided, all-weather ability to defeat stressing air threats out to 25 km, will deliver a major enhancement to the capabilities of the Polish PILICA+ system in ensuring the defence of high-value and mobile assets. CAMM first entered service with the UK Armed Forces in 2018, with the CAMM family (including CAMM-ER co-developed with Italy) rapidly proving a success on the international market.
Poland is already a user of MBDA’s CAMM, receiving a first battery in 2022 in response to an urgent requirement called mała (small) NAREW that was successfully delivered by MBDA and PGZ in six months. MBDA and PGZ also continue to work towards contracting the technology transfer and Polish manufacture of the mid-tier NAREW air defence programme, utilising the extended range CAMM-ER missile and a common iLauncher solution and on co-operation on future missiles for higher air defence tiers (through a contract placed in 2022).
Poland will benefit from the synergies of operating the CAMM family across multiple domains as these missiles will also equip Poland’s future maritime air defence system on-board the Miecznik-class frigates.
MBDA is a unique multinational European group, specialising in the field of complex weapon systems. Created in the spirit of international cooperation, MBDA and its more than 14,000 employees work together to support the national sovereignty of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK and other allied countries worldwide. It is the only European group capable of designing and manufacturing complex weapons to meet the full range of current and future operational requirements of the three armed forces (land, sea and air). MBDA is owned by Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%) and Leonardo (25%).
