STOCKHOLM, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Norwegian defense company Kongsberg Gruppen said on Friday it had won a 16 billion crown ($1.67 billion) order from Poland for drone defence systems. Kongsberg said in a
Poland Strengthens Air Defence with $1.7 Billion Drone Order
Poland's Defence Strategy and Recent Developments
STOCKHOLM/Warsaw, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Norwegian defence company Kongsberg Gruppen said on Friday it had won a 16 billion crown ($1.67 billion) order from Poland for drone defence systems.
Details of the Kongsberg Contract
Poland has been accelerating efforts to strengthen its air defences after a Russian drone strike in September exposed how vulnerable the country remains to spillover from the war in neighbouring Ukraine.
Impact on NATO and European Security
"Poland carries on its shoulders the responsibility, expenses, organizations, everything that is supposed to ensure security on the Polish, European, NATO eastern border...," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a conference on Friday.
Production Capacity Increase in Poland
The main contractor will be state-owned defence group Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa, while Norway's Kongsberg and Gdynia-based APS are also set to play key roles.
Components of the CUAS System
Kongsberg said in a statement it would invest in increasing its production capacity in Poland following the order for the Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS).
The contract, signed in partnership with Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), entails the delivery of 18 CUAS batteries.
"The collaboration between Kongsberg and PGZ demonstrates the companies' commitment and support to NATO-aligned industrial cooperation to strengthen the European security landscape and anti-drone shield," it said.
The purchase forms part of Poland's East Shield initiative to reinforce defences along NATO's eastern flank and will be financed through the European Union's SAFE programme.
The system will comprise radars for detecting hostile targets as well as several types of effectors intended to neutralise the enemy's unmanned aerial vehicles.
($1 = 9.5996 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm, Jagoda Darlak in Gdansk, Barbara Erling and Pawel Florkiewicz in Warsaw, editing by Terje Solsvik and Tomasz Janowski)
