The Polish Armaments Agency, together with the private company APS and the Norwegian arms concern Kongsberg, signed a contract for the development and supply of the latest San anti-drone system, which will be used within the Eastern Shield system.
This was reported by the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
The agreement approval ceremony took place at the PIT-Radwar enterprise in Kobylka near Warsaw, attended by Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defense Minister Władysław Kosińska-Kamyś.
The contract was signed by the Polish Armaments Agency and a consortium that included Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), Advanced Protection Systems (APS), and Norwegian arms manufacturer Kongsberg.
The San project is planned to be implemented in two years. The cost of the contract is not disclosed, but according to unofficial data, it is about 15 billion zlotys (approximately 3.6 billion euros, — ed.).
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called this event historic, emphasizing that the San system will become a key element of the Eastern Shield initiative.
“We are dealing with an absolute breakthrough in the issue of effective, efficient defense of the eastern border of Poland, Europe, and NATO, and this is in the most sensitive element, which is air defense, primarily defense against modern aggression techniques,” the Prime Minister said.
He also noted that it is fundamentally important for Poland that the Eastern Shield reliably protects the sky from the latest threats, and the involvement of Norwegian experience through the Kongsberg company guarantees the highest level of technology.
The head of the Polish Ministry of Defense, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, said that the San 18 anti-drone system batteries, 52 firing platoons, 18 command platoons, and 703 vehicles, 400 of which will be deployed at the Yelch base and 300 at the Igwana base.
“The capabilities of the Polish arms industry will be significantly expanded thanks to the San project, as it is not just one device… In the future, this will be our export product,” he concluded.
San is a complex multi-level defense system that includes 30-mm anti-aircraft guns using programmable ammunition, inexpensive high-precision APKWS missiles, interceptor drones designed to destroy UAVs in the air, and sensors that allow you to see targets that are “hiding” from electronic warfare.
What is known about the “Eastern Shield”
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are creating a “Baltic Defense Line.” In the plan, dubbed “Eastern Shield,” Poland is guarding about 700 kilometers of border.
According to Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosińska-Kamiś, the national deterrence and defense program “Eastern Shield” is the largest operation to strengthen Poland's eastern border and NATO's eastern flank since 1945.
As RMF24 reported, the program, for which the government announced the allocation of 10 billion zlotys ($2.6 billion, — ed.), includes, in particular, the construction of fortifications and dams along the eastern border.