MBDA has signed a contract with the Polish Armament Service to supply CAMM surface-to-air missiles and iLaunchers for Poland’s PILICA+ air defence upgrade program.

In total, MBDA will supply missiles and missile launchers worth £1.9 billion to support Poland’s modernization and manufacture of a total of 22 PILICA+ air defence batteries, making it the largest European short-range air defence capability acquisition program in NATO.

Designed by the state-owned company PGZ, the PILICA+ program will combine MBDA’s CAMM short-range radar-guided missiles with Polish-made autocannon and very-short-range infrared-guided missiles in a triple-layer system, managed by a Polish command and control system and guided by Polish radars.

PILICA+ will operate as the inner tier of an integrated Polish air defence network, which also includes the WISLA upper-tier system and the NAREW mid-tier system, which MBDA is also developing with PGZ.

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According to MBDA’s announcement, CAMM, with its multi-channel, radar-guided, all-weather capability to neutralize air threats at 25 km, will deliver a major enhancement to the capabilities of the Polish PILICA+ system in ensuring

the defence of high-value and mobile assets.

The CAMM missile first entered service with the UK Armed Forces in 2018, with the CAMM family, including the CAMM-ER, being jointly developed with Italy.

MBDA and PGZ also continue to work towards contracting the technology transfer and Polish manufacture of the mid-tier NAREW air defence program, utilizing the extended range CAMM-ER missile and a common iLauncher solution, and on co-operation on future missiles for higher air defence tiers through a contract signed in 2022.

Poland will benefit from the synergies of operating the CAMM family across multiple domains as these missiles will also equip Poland’s future maritime air defence system on-board the Miecznik-class frigates.

Poland is already a user of MBDA’s CAMM missile, receiving a first batch in 2022 through the NAREW program, which was successfully delivered by MBDA and PGZ within 6 months.

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