The UK arm of European missile maker MBDA on Friday agreed to a 1.9 billion pound ($2.37 billion) deal with Poland to provide it with a British-designed air defense system, the British government said.
I am delighted that the UK and Poland’s deep and historic defense ties take another step forward with the signing of the largest ever UK defense export deal with Poland.”
British defense minister Ben Wallace said in a statement.
The missile deal will see Britain deliver 22 Polish air defense batteries with British Common Anti-Air Modular Missiles (CAMMs) and launchers. The government said the contract would support more than 500 jobs at MBDA UK.
The missile group is owned by France’s Airbus and Britain’s BAE Systems, both with a 37.5 percent stake and by Italy’s defense and aerospace group Leonardo, with the remaining 25 percent.
The government said the British-designed CAMMs developed by MBDA UK are already deployed to Poland with the British Army to protect its airspace following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The system can engage air and missile targets up to 25 kilometers away and is capable of hitting a tennis ball-sized object traveling beyond the speed of sound, the government said.
Last year, London, Warsaw, and Kyiv agreed to develop trilateral cooperation by strengthening their defense capabilities and the NATO Eastern flank.
