Poland has selected Thales - MBDA and Raytheon in tender for medium range missile system 0107141

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Defence & Security News - Poland
 
 
Tuesday, July 1, 2014 07:30 AM
 
Poland has selected Thales - MBDA and Raytheon in tender for medium range missile system.
Poland has short-listed a consortium of France's Thales and European group MBDA, as well as U.S. firm Raytheon, in its tender for a mid-range missile defence system, the defence ministry said on Monday, June 30, 2014. The bids that lost out on the tender, which is estimated to be worth about $5 billion, were from the Israeli government and the MEADS consortium led by Lockheed Martin.
     
Poland has short-listed a consortium of France's Thales and European group MBDA, as well as U.S. firm Raytheon, in its tender for a mid-range missile defence system, the defence ministry said on Monday, June 30, 2014. The bids that lost out on the tender, which is estimated to be worth about $5 billion, were from the Israeli government and the MEADS consortium led by Lockheed Martin.
Poland has short-listed a consortium of France's Thales and European group MBDA, as well as U.S. firm Raytheon, in its tender for a mid-range missile defence system.
     
The American Defense Company Raytheon propose its Patriot PAC-3 used by the United States Army and several allied nations, while European group MBDA and Thales offer the SAMP which is currently in service with the French Army.

Poland, a NATO member since 1999, had accelerated the process to select a supplier for the missile system after Russia's intervention in Ukraine prompted fears among NATO members in eastern Europe they could be next in line.

The Polish defence ministry also changed the criteria for the system, saying it should be already operational and in use by a NATO member state's armed forces.

That ruled out the Lockheed Martin-led bid, which involved technology still in development, and the Israeli bid, called David's Sling, which is also not yet in operation.

The ministry said terms of the tender will ensure the participation of Poland's domestic defence industry in the construction of the missile defence, with the state defence holding Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa playing a key role.

MEADS International issued a statement saying it was disappointed with Poland's announcement, but that it would keep working with existing national partners Germany and Italy to finish development of the system.

The planned system is separate from elements of a U.S. missile shield to be deployed in Poland by 2018, as confirmed by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on a visit to Warsaw this week.