Poland Considers Joining The European Sky Shield Initiative
After the astonishing success of the Israeli integrated air defense system, including Iron Dome, earlier this month during Iran’s attack the Polish Prime Minister openly stated his political willingness to join the European Sky Shield Initiative to bolster Polish air defenses.
The European Sky Shield Initiative was launched in October 2022 with the aim of building a European ground-based air defense system capable of engaging threats including aircraft and ballistic missiles. The project launched with 15 signatories including Germany, the UK, Romania, the Netherlands, the Baltic states and the Czech Republic. The ESSI will use systems including IRIS-T, Patriot and Arrow 3.
Air defense has been one of the hot topics in the Polish military-related media in recent years. Some of the major programs have been warmly welcomed by experts, especially the Vistula and Narew programs under which Poland obtained Patriot missile defense systems and CAMM effectors. The Ministry of Defense began a total modernization and re-equipment of the Polish Armed Forces, as the air defense systems were still based on post-soviet solutions and platforms such as 9K33 Osa and S-125 Neva-SC.
Now, besides procuring the Integrated Battle Command System Poland’s Prime Minister also wants to supplement Polish air defenses with membership of the ESSI. It is the result of the recent talks between the Chief of the Armed Forces General Command the President of the Bureau of National Security and the Prime Minister himself. In addition, the President of the Polish Republic claimed his readiness to support the effort to join the ESSI if the initiative participants consult the procurement of the ICBS and CAMM by Poland.
Polish participation in the ESSI would serve the purpose of aiding solutions that are already adopted or planned for integration within the Polish air defense system. Poland has been developing its programs under the recent modernization plan that would be uneconomical to leave behind, especially the CAMM-ER development plan with MBDA, and the IBCS integration which is one of the most expensive purchases made by the Polish MoD in the last years. The consensus between the President and Prime Minister, who are from opposing political camps, on the idea may increase the likelihood of Poland deciding to join the ESSI this year.
Cover picture by Darkone under CC BY-SA 2.5 License