Warsaw wants to develop the capabilities of its Piorun air defence systems jointly with Lithuanian industry, Polish Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said on Thursday.
Last November, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia and Norway signed a letter of intent to purchase the man-portable short-range air defence systems.
Lithuania’s Defence Ministry said at the time that the Armament Agency under the Polish Defence Ministry would negotiate with Mesko, the manufacturer, on behalf of all four countries as part of the joint procurement procedure.
Tomczyk said on Thursday that the discussions with Lithuania also go beyond purchasing the Piorun systems and also cover their joint development.
“Lithuania is interested in acquiring Polish-made Piorun missiles, which are becoming our flagship export product, but we want to develop them together with Lithuanian industry, too, if possible,” he told reporters at the Rūdninkai training area in southeastern Lithuania.
Lithuania currently has an older version of the Polish Grom air defence system and uses short-range air defence weapons made by other manufacturers.
Tomczyk said the main goal of his visit was to unite the efforts of Poland and the Baltic countries in implementing the Baltic Defence Line and Eastern Shield counter-mobility initiatives aimed at protecting NATO and EU external borders.
“We are here in Lithuania because we want to show that these two projects – the Eastern Shield and the Baltic Defence Line – are a joint effort. We are thinking about how to combine them,” the deputy minister said, adding that the commander of Poland’s military engineering corps and other military personnel had come along to discuss the details.
Tomczyk also confirmed that the Baltic states and Poland are planning to submit a joint application to the European Security Action Program (SAFE).
“Yes, we are thinking about it. We had four meetings last month with Lithuanian Deputy Defence Minister Tomas [Godliauskas], as well as colleagues from Latvia and Estonia, and we are considering submitting an application as the three Baltic states plus Poland. In the future, of course, we are also thinking about Finland,” the Polish deputy minister said.
Godliauskas said the countries are also discussing possible funding for counter-mobility projects under the EU’s next multiannual budget.
“We see it as a priority not only to tap into funding from the EU’s ReARM and SAFE initiatives, but also to look to the European Union’s long-term financial perspective, giving focus and priority to this specific project,” he said.
According to the Lithuanian deputy minister, these and other defence capabilities will be discussed in more detail at a later meeting of ministers in Vilnius.
The Baltic Defence Line – a set of counter-mobility measures being developed along NATO’s eastern border – is listed in the EU’s so-called White Paper and, according to European Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, has been singled out from other potential large-scale projects.
The Eastern Shield is Poland’s initiative to reinforce its border with Belarus and Russia.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
