- The air defense system produced by Poland consists mainly of medium and short-range systems, while the European Sky Shield program also considers the purchase of long-range systems.
- Jacek Siviera, head of the President's National Security Bureau, said on Tuesday that “it is not possible to build a European dome without radar elements on NATO's eastern flank.” – Polish very short-range elements like Pioruns can be included in this system – he emphasized
- Earlier, 21 European countries announced their participation in the German-initiated defense program
- More important information can be found on the Onet home page
The idea of a European missile defense shield was put forward during a speech by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Poland at the end of August 2022. The European Ski Shield concept was officially presented on October 13, 2022 in Brussels at the initiative of Germany.
According to the letter of intent, the participating countries will undertake joint procurement of air defense systems and missiles, which will guarantee the best price.
Which countries participate in the program?
Initially, 15 NATO countries joined the project: Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom. In 2023, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark decided to participate in the initiative. In mid-February 2024, Turkey and Greece announced they would join the program. It offers a total of 21 countries.
What weapon components should the European anti-missile defense have?
According to NATO's assumptions, the air defense systems will be integrated with the NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defense System (NATINAMDS).
The German proposal is included in the program of the Israeli-American Arrow-3 anti-atmospheric ballistic missile defense system, the American Patriot medium-range air defense system and the German IRIS-T SLM short-range system.
Selected anti-missile defense systems in the world
How did Poland want to protect its skies?
Poland initially did not join the European Sky Shield scheme. Deputy Minister of National Defense in the PiS government, Wojciech Skurkiewicz, said that our anti-missile defense is primarily based on the Narew systems, i.e. short-range anti-aircraft missile systems, and the Wisła, American company Lockheed Martin PAC-3 is based on Patriot systems with MSE missiles.
Patriot launchers as part of the Vistula system
The Narew system consists of short-range missile packages: missiles and missiles from the British concern MBDA UK. The main element CAMM missiles should have a range of at least 25 km. As Marius Blaszak, head of the Ministry of National Defense, said in April 2022, they are to be used against air and missile attacks. In mid-March, the British government announced that its Sky Saber anti-missile system armed with these missiles would be sent to Poland. 100 British soldiers were also sent to serve them.
New Air Defense System
How can Poland join the ESSI programme?
Polish anti-missile defense consists mainly of medium- and short-range systems, while the ESSI program also envisages the purchase of long-range missiles. As Jacek Siviera, head of the National Security Bureau, explained on Tuesday, “However, it is not possible to build a European dome without radar components in Poland, that is, without detection capabilities on NATO's eastern flank.” — We have very short-range systems, including: Lightning that can be added to this system, he noted.
According to the Presidential Minister's announcement, this will allow the Polish arms industry to join the program. – Under these conditions, participation in the European anti-missile shield is not excluded, on the contrary, emphasized Jacek Seivira.
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Cooperation within the European Sky Shield The head of the Polish government announced at a press conference on Tuesday. – Poland should be part of many systems that can create an Iron Dome in the Polish sky – said Donald Tusk. – We will cooperate in the European Sky Shield initiative. The prime minister also said that it does not bother me that the founders of this organization are Germany.
Earlier in the day, the president criticized the idea, calling the plan a “German business plan.” – It is relatively new and completely different compared to what we started to create – stressed Andrzej Duda. – So far, we have not considered joining it, because we implement our own – with the United States, Great Britain and based on what our industry implements – he noted.
Jacek Sievier, head of the President's Office of National Security, commented on the situation on Tuesday, stressing that “this is undoubtedly a business plan, because the whole concept of protecting Europe is economic in nature.” – As issued two years ago, it was essentially a sales pitch. – he insisted.
– The brains of the organization under the European Sky Shield are already in Poland. There is no such system on the German side. The head of the National Security Bureau added that if the Polish systems are implemented, the President will certainly support such a security system.
The Iron Dome Defending Israel
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