CAMM “Confirmed” For Polish Ground-Based Air Defense Program
The British Ministry of Defense has announced that MBDA’s Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) has been “confirmed” for use in Poland’s NAREW program. The family of modular missiles will lead Polish-British collaboration in the development of “pioneering technology” for Poland’s future ground-based air defense systems.
The announcement came after the signing of a Statement of Intent by British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak on collaborative development of NAREW, during a visit by Wallace to Poland. Wallace described the statement as a “step change” for collaboration between the two countries, allowing the Polish and British militaries to operate even more closely in the future.
Chris Allam, MBDA UK’s Managing Director, said that the CAMM manufacturer had offered a “unprecedented technology co-operation and transfer proposal” for NAREW, adding:
“In choosing MBDA, and the CAMM family, Poland will receive the benefits of a true European missile partnership, the latest capabilities, and the ability to secure and develop highly skilled jobs in its defence industry. We thank Poland for the trust placed in us and we look forward to delivering this programme in co-operation with PGZ.”
The visit also saw Wallace and Błaszczak visit NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence – Poland Battle Group at Bemowe Piskie Camp, Orzysz, including Polish and British personnel attached to the deployment. Additionally, the two discussed the current crisis on Poland’s border with Belarus, with Wallace affirming UK support for Poland and reiterating the UK’s “firm” condemnation of the Lukashenko regime’s attempt to engineer a migration crisis targeting Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
Wallace also announced that he will be notifying Parliament on the planned deployment of 150 Royal Engineers to Poland’s border with Belarus. He stressed that no combat troops would be deployed, saying to the BBC that the engineers would instead have “the ability to build roads and checkpoints and observation posts” in support of Polish authorities. The secretary also noted that a small reconnaissance team of engineers had already been deployed to the border.
The Defence Secretary said that he was “particularly worried” for women, children and other vulnerable people trapped at the border, describing them as being used by Minsk as tools in a “game” to destabilize their neighbors. At least 14 migrants have died since the start of the crisis, with the nonprofit Polish Emergency Medical Team saying on Friday that a one-year old Syrian child that had spent a month and a half in a forest on the Polish side of the border with their family was now the latest confirmed death.