UK and Poland strengthen defences on Europe's Eastern flank
Britain will be more secure as a result of a new defence agreement with Poland designed to deter Russian threats.
The Secretary of State for Defence Wes Streeting made an official visit to Poland where he met the Polish Defence Minister.
Britain will be more secure as a result of a new defence agreement with Poland designed to deter Russian threats.
The Warsaw Defence Plan comes as Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and his counterpart Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz today meet in Warsaw. Under the agreement, the two nations will work together across sea, land, air, cyber and industry to strengthen security and deterrence across Europe’s Eastern Flank.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting MP said:
Poland is one of the UK’s closest allies - from flying together in the Battle of Britain, to breaking the Enigma code, they have been a vital partner for our defence for nearly a century.
The new Warsaw Defence Plan honours this cooperation and sets out how we will continue to work together today, building a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO.
From collaborating on NATO exercises that deter our adversaries to working together to support Ukraine in its fight for freedom, we are committed to standing together for European security whilst boosting our economies with stronger defence industries.
The agreement sets out the first phase of defence cooperation under the new UK-Poland Security and Defence Partnership Treaty and demonstrates the UK stepping up on European security to build a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO.
It will strengthen joint work on defence between the UK and Poland across a number of key areas, including:
- Collaboration on the manufacture and development of the next generation of air defence missiles.
- Co-development of drone and counter-drone technologies to deter threats to civilians and critical national infrastructure, as Russia steps up its campaign of drone incursions across the UK and Europe.
- Boosting cooperation on cyber security and resilience to help both countries defend defence and civilian sites from hostile threats.
- Sharing lessons and experience from developing frigate capabilities, the British Type 31 and Polish Miecznik, which are built from a common design.
- Increasing defensive maritime activity in the Baltic Sea through exercises and regional coordination, helping British and Polish forces protect vital lines of communication in the sea.
The UK and Poland will also work together to further strengthen cooperation between their defence industries through closer defence procurement coordination, building on major deals such as Poland’s procurement of its Narew air defence system from MBDA UK.
UK and Polish defence industrial partners BAE Systems and Poland’s PGZ will expand large-calibre ammunition production capacity and capability. More widely, both nations’ defence industries will collaborate to promote defence education, training and workforce mobility to build shared expertise.
Continued UK and Polish participation in large-scale exercises such as Steadfast Defender, Polish Dragon and Joint Warrior will also ensure both nations remain ready to respond to the conflicts of the future, including counter-drone warfare, electronic warfare, and missile defence.
It comes as the UK and Poland plan for a major Coalition of the Wiling exercise in Poland next month, which will see thousands of personnel take part to ensure the Multinational Force Ukraine is ready to support the military training and post-war rebuilding that Ukraine will need.