MBDA Secures Groundbreaking Polish Air Defense Deal

MBDA has been awarded a contract by the Polish Armament Agency to deliver CAMM missiles and iLaunchers for Poland’s PILICA+ air defense enhancement initiative.

In total, MBDA will supply missiles and missile launchers valued at £1.9 billion to assist Poland’s modernisation efforts and the production of 22 PILICA+ air defense batteries – establishing it as the most significant European short-range air defense procurement project within NATO.

Engineered by PGZ, PILICA+ will integrate MBDA’s CAMM short-range radar-guided missiles with domestic autocannons and very-short-range infrared guided missiles, creating a triple-layer system managed by a Polish command and control infrastructure and directed by Polish radars. PILICA+ will serve as the inner layer of a robust integrated Polish air defense network, also incorporating the upper-tier WISLA system and mid-tier NAREW system, which MBDA is also aiding in collaboration with PGZ.

Chris Allam, Managing Director of MBDA UK, remarked: “We are immensely proud that Poland is placing CAMM at the heart of their layered air defense systems. This historic Polish-UK partnership will significantly enhance Poland’s air defense capabilities and strengthen our defense sectors, fostering sovereignty and bolstering employment in both nations.”

CAMM, with its multi-channel, radar-guided, all-weather capacity to counteract challenging aerial threats up to 25 km, will provide a significant boost to the functionalities of the Polish PILICA+ system in securing high-value and mobile assets. CAMM was first deployed with the UK Armed Forces in 2018, and the CAMM family (inclusive of CAMM-ER, co-developed with Italy) has swiftly garnered success in the global market.

Poland is already a user of MBDA’s CAMM, having received its first battery in 2022 in response to an urgent request termed mała (small) NAREW, which was successfully supplied by MBDA and PGZ within six months. MBDA and PGZ are also advancing toward securing the technology transfer and Polish production of the mid-tier NAREW air defense initiative, employing the extended range CAMM-ER missile and a unified iLauncher solution, and collaborating on future missiles for higher air defense levels (following a contract established in 2022). Poland stands to gain from the synergies of deploying the CAMM family across multiple domains, as these missiles will also be integral to Poland’s forthcoming maritime air defense system aboard the Miecznik-class frigates.