Dec. 1, 2013 - By WENDELL MINNICK, JUNG SUNG-KI and PAUL KALLENDER-UMEZU – Defense News

TAIPEI, SEOUL AND TOKYO — China’s establishment of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) last week over the East China Sea has given the US an unexpected challenge as Vice President Joseph Biden prepares for a trip to China, Japan and South Korea beginning this week.

The trip was scheduled to address economic issues, but the Nov. 23 ADIZ announcement raised a troubling new issue for the US and allies in the region. China’s ADIZ overlaps the zones of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Sources indicate China’s ADIZ could be part of its larger anti-access/area-denial strategy designed to force the US military to operate farther from China’s shorelines.

China might also be planning additional identification zones in the South China Sea and near contested areas along India’s border, US and local sources say.

China’s ADIZ might be an attempt by Beijing to improve its claim to disputed islands in the East China Sea also claimed by Japan, sources said. These islands — known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China — are under the administrative control of Japan.

Mike Green, senior vice president for Asia and Japan chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said this is part of a larger Chinese strategy beyond disputes over islands.

“This should be viewed as a part of a Chinese effort to assert greater denial capacity and eventual pre-eminence over the First Island Chain” off the coast, he said.

Green, who served on the US National Security Council from 2001 to 2005, said China’s Central Military Commission in 2008 “promulgated the ‘Near Sea Doctrine,’ and is following it to the letter, testing the US, Japan, Philippines and others to see how far they can push.”

June Teufel Dreyer, a veteran China watcher at the University of Miami, Fla., said “salami slicing” is a large part of China’s strategic policy. “The salami tactic has been stunningly successful, so incremental that it’s hard to decide what Japan, or any other country, should respond forcefully to. No clear ‘red line’ seems to have been established,” Dreyer said.

The Chinese refer to it as “ling chi” or “death from a thousand cuts.”

For example, China’s new ADIZ overlaps not only Japan’s zone to encompass disputed islands, but South Korea’s zone by 20 kilometers in width and 115 kilometers in length to cover the Socotra Rock (Ieodo or Parangdo). Socotra is under South Korean control but claimed by China as the Suyan Rock.

Seoul decided to expand its ADIZ after China refused to redraw its declared zone covering the islands. Seoul’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) and related government agencies are consulting on how to expand the South Korean ADIZ, drawn in 1951 by the US military, officials said.

“We’re considering ways of expanding [South] Korea’s air defense identification zone to include Ieodo,” said Wi Yong-seop, vice spokesman for the MND.

During annual high-level defense talks between Seoul and Beijing on Nov. 28, South Korean Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo demanded that Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese Army, modify China’s ADIZ.

“We expressed regret over China’s air defense identification zone that overlaps our zone and even includes Ieodo,” Wi said after the bilateral meeting. “We made it clear that we can’t recognize China’s move and jurisdiction over Ieodo waters.”

Amid these growing tensions, South Korea’s arms procurement agency announced Nov. 27 it would push forward on procurement of four aerial refueling planes. Currently, South Korea’s F-15 fighter jets are limited to flying missions over Ieodo for 20 minutes. New tankers will extend that time to 80 minutes.

“With midair refueling, the operational range and flight hours of our fighter jets will be extended to a greater extent, and we will be able to respond to potential territorial disputes with neighboring countries,” a spokesman for South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration said.

In the southern part of China’s ADIZ, which overlaps Taiwan’s ADIZ, Beijing was careful not to cover Taiwan’s Pengjia Island, which is manned by a Taiwan Coast Guard unit.

“The exclusion of the Pengjia Islet indicates that mainland China respects our stance,” said Chinese Nationalist Party legislator Ting Shou-chung. Relations across the Taiwan Strait have been improving over the past several years.

“We’re all waiting for the other shoe to drop,” said Peter Dutton, an ADIZ expert and director of the China Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval War College.

“We’re looking to see how China will now behave,” he said. “Hopefully, they will not try to fly inside the airspace over the Senkaku Islands, since that is under Japanese sovereign administration and would therefore be a highly provocative act.”

Dutton downplayed fears of another civilian airliner being shot down, as was the case in 1983, when a Soviet Su-15 fighter shot down a South Korean airliner that strayed into Soviet airspace, killing 269.

In 1988, a US Navy Ticonderoga-class cruiser, the USS Vincennes, shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Arabian Gulf, killing 290. The Vincennes mistook the airliner for an Iranian F-14 Tomcat fighter jet.

“For civilian aircraft, this is really not a major issue,” he said. “Those aircraft almost always file flight plans in advance and follow the directions of ground controllers. This means that their route through the ADIZ would already by pre-approved, and this is not a problem for the Chinese.”

Dutton said the real concern is the freedom of military flights.

“But both the US and Japan have said they do not intend to alter their behavior or to abide by the ADIZ procedures, no matter what they are, for military flights,” he said.

In 2001, a Chinese J-8 fighter collided with a US Navy EP-3 Aries signals intelligence aircraft near Hainan Island. Bonnie Glaser, a China specialist at CSIS, said she does not expect China to “back down” from its ADIZ policy, and anticipates more intercepts by Chinese fighters of US reconnaissance aircraft.

“The risk of accident will undoubtedly increase, especially [with] fighters [flown at] Mach 1 by young, inexperienced pilots,” she said.

Alessio Patalano, a lecturer in the Department of War Studies, King’s College, London, said the Chinese move might have been prompted by the current tensions in the East China Sea, and recent discussions in Japan about how the military can deal with Chinese drones and manned patrol aircraft that intrude into Japan’s air defense space.

“Chinese authorities are seeking to force Japan to accept the existence of the dispute challenging Japanese control of the islands,” Patalano said. “The problem with this is that Chinese authorities are using military and paramilitary tools to force a change of status quo to what is a political issue.

“Of course, a more robust response could see the US and Japan deploy air assets in the overlapping areas of the ADIZ to challenge the Chinese position,” Patalano said. “US and Japanese aircraft flying together in the Chinese ADIZ would present a serious dilemma to Chinese authority.”

Green said the US should at least send a “joint US-Japan patrol into the area to prove the point that coercion does not work.”

The announcement of the ADIZ also affects the Chinese military, likely adding to the Air Force’s status over the traditional role the Army has played as national defender

DUBAI, 19 novembre - RIA Novosti

La Russie livrera des systèmes de défense antiaérienne à l'Egypte, a annoncé lundi le président du holding russe de hautes technologies Rostec Sergueï Tchemezov, membre de la délégation russe au salon Dubai Airshow aux Emirats arabes unis.

"Les contrats sur des systèmes de défense antiaérienne sont à l'étude. Les parties sont proches de la signature de ces contrats, mais on est actuellement à l'étape des discussions en raison des problèmes financiers de la partie égyptienne", a indiqué M.Tchemezov à RIA Novosti.

Selon lui, la Russie et l'Egypte discutent en outre sur la livraisons d'hélicoptères et d'avions au Caire.

08/10/2013 Chine Nouvelle (Xinhua) - Xu Yongchun

La porte-parole du ministère chinois des Affaires étrangères Hua Chunying a répondu mardi aux préoccupations de l'OTAN et des Etats-Unis concernant la décision de la Turquie de co-produire un système de défense antimissile avec une société chinoise, qualifiant de "normal" cet accord militaire entre la Chine et la Turquie.

Le 26 septembre, le ministre turc de la Défense Ismet Yilmaz a annoncé la décision de la Turquie d'accorder ce contrat à la société China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp.

Le secrétaire général de l'OTAN Anders Fogh Rasmussen a indiqué lundi qu'il espérait que la Turquie choisirait un système compatible avec ceux de ses alliés.

Les Etats-Unis ont exprimé à la Turquie leurs sérieuses préoccupations, avertissant le pays que le système de défense antimissile chinois ne fonctionnerait pas avec le système de l'OTAN.

La porte-parole du ministère chinois des Affaires étrangères Hua Chunying a souligné que les préoccupations des pays occidentaux étaient déraisonnables et inutiles.

Elle a espéré que les parties concernées considéreraient cet accord militaire entre la Chine et la Turquie d'un point de vue objectif et ne politiseraient pas la question de la concurrence commerciale.

Le gouvernement chinois a toujours adopté une attitude prudente et responsable à l'égard de la coopération militaire avec d'autres pays, a-t-elle ajouté.

La Chine a toujours strictement respecté les principes consistant à ne pas compromettre la paix et la stabilité régionales et mondiales, à ne pas s'ingérer dans les affaires intérieures des autres pays, et a strictement rempli ses obligations internationales, a souligné Mme Hua.

Le système de défense anti-aérienne chinois FD-2000 l'a emporté sur le système américain Patriot, le système russe S-400 Triumph et le système franco-italien Eurosan Samp-T, selon les rapports des médias.

05/10/2013 Michel Cabirol – LaTribune.fr

Selon nos informations, le groupe d'électronique a terminé les négociations avec le ministère de la Défense saoudien (Moda). Au total, le contrat s'élèverait à 4 milliards d'euros, dont 2,5 milliards pour la première tranche. Le ministre de la Défense Jean-Yves Le Drian s'envole dimanche pour Ryad.

Oct. 2, 2013 – Defense News (AFP)

ANKARA — Turkey on Wednesday defended its decision to enter talks with China to acquire its first long-range anti-missile system, in spite of protests from its ally Washington.

It also made clear that no deal had yet been finalised.

"The Chinese gave us the best price," Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz told Vatan newspaper, explaining that the system's Chinese manufacturer had agreed to a co-production deal with Turkey.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Levent Gumrukcu said talks were to begin with the Chinese company, but made it clear that the selection process was still ongoing.

"The process has not yet been finalised," he said.

In an official statement last week, Turkey said it has "decided to begin talks with the CPMIEC company of the People's Republic of China for the joint production of the systems and its missiles in Turkey".

China Precision Machinery Export-Import Corp (CPMIEC) beat out competition from a US partnership of Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, Russia's Rosoboronexport, and the Italian-French consortium Eurosamrs in the tender.

The original contract was worth a reported $4 billion dollars, but the Chinese bid reportedly came in at a much lower $3 billion according to Turkish media.

The United States reacted with alarm to news that Ankara had chosen the Chinese firm, slapped with US sanctions for delivering arms to Iran and Syria, to build the air defence and anti-missile system.

"We had asked for joint production and a technology transfer," the Turkish minister said. "If other countries cannot guarantee us that, then we will turn to ones that can."

NATO member Turkey is a key regional ally to the United States, and currently has US-built Patriot missile systems deployed on its border to deter incoming attacks from Syria.

Turkey wants to build its own long-range air defence and anti-missile architecture to counter both enemy aircraft and missiles.

NATO has also raised concerns over possible compatibility issues between the Chinese-made system and others used within the alliance.

Yilmaz dismissed its concerns, saying: "There is no problem on that front."

The foreign ministry confirmed that Turkey had been in talks with NATO over the past few days, with Gumrukcu saying that the exchange of views with NATO allies was "only natural."

27/09/2013 by Paul Fiddian - Armed Forces International's Lead Reporter

Turkey has selected China's CPMIEC firm to co-manufacture its long-range ground-based air defence system, thereby eliminating Russian, European and US companies from a $4 billion co-development contract.

Turkey's air defence system choice was made public on 26 September by the country's Defense Minister, Ismet Yilmaz, who at the same time confirmed the termination of a ship-building contract through which six new corvettes would have been delivered to the Turkish Navy.

Right now, Turkey doesn't have an extended-range missile defence system in operation but, via its NATO membership, does have Patriot systems deployed there.

CPMIEC's winning offering is the HQ-9 system. It was up against the Patriot (offered by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon), the S-300 (Rosoboronexport) and the SAMP/T Aster 30 (Eurosam).

Turkish Air Defence Contract

Responding to the Turkish air defence contract choice, Raytheon seemed to express disappointment. "NATO has long supported the system, deploying Patriots in five aligned countries and, in 2012, providing a requested Patriot deployment to Turkey", said representative Mike Doble. "Given this strong performance, we hope to have an opportunity to debrief and learn more about this decision."

About six months ago, CPMIEC had sanctions imposed on it by the United Nations in connection with Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act violations. It is not known precisely what these violations involved but this wasn't the first time the firm had found itself in that situation.

HQ-9 Missile System

The HQ-9 missile defence system has been in production since the 1980s. The missile itself boasts an inertial guidance system, has a horizontal range of up to 200 kilometres and travels at Mach 4.2. It is launched by a Taian TAS5380 8×8 TEL (transporter erector launcher) vehicle.

In 2012, China was the world's fifth-largest arms exporter with a five per cent market share, according to SIPRI (the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). The lion's share of its arms exports involved sales to Pakistan, SIPRI stated.

Chinese S-300 (HongQi 9 [HQ-9]) launcher during China's 60th anniversary parade, 2009. photo Jian Kang

26/09/2013 Michel Cabirol – LaTribune.fr

Pourtant membre de l'OTAN, la Turquie a choisi un groupe chinois, CPMIEC, pour la fourniture d'un système de défense aérienne stratégique pour Ankara. Un contrat évalué à 4 milliards de dollars. C'est une énorme gifle pour les américains Raytheon et Lockheed Martin ainsi que les français MBDA et Thales.

C'est une énorme surprise... et un choix totalement incompréhensible au regard des alliances internationales. La Chine a remporté jeudi un appel d'offres de 4 milliards de dollars lancé par la Turquie portant sur l'acquisition de systèmes de missiles anti-aériens et de missiles de longue portée. Le sous-secrétariat de l'Industrie de la Défense (SSM) a "décidé d'entamer les pourparlers avec la compagnie CPMIEC de la République populaire de Chine pour la production conjointe des systèmes et de leurs missiles en Turquie sur le prix négocié", selon un communiqué.

C'est aussi un énorme claque pour le consortium américain formé par Raytheon et Lockheed Martin mais aussi pour le groupe franco-italien Eurosam (MBDA et Thales) et à un degré moindre le russe Rosoboronexport. Cela risque de tanguer les jours prochains entre Ankara et Washington. Pourquoi un tel choix ? Selon le magazine "Defence News", les Chinois auraient proposé à Ankara trois milliards de dollars, un prix défiant toute concurrence pour un contrat estimé pourtant à 4 milliards de dollars

La Turquie pays membre de l'OTAN

Pourtant, en janvier, l'Otan avait commencé à déployer des missiles sol-air Patriot pour protéger la Turquie d'un éventuel débordement du conflit syrien. Les batteries de missiles Patriot, destinées à assurer la défense du territoire turc contre les avions et les missiles à courte portée, ont été fournies par les Etats-Unis, l'Allemagne et les Pays-Bas.

Thales et MBDA espéraient beaucoup en Turquie. D'autant qu'il existait de nombreux contacts à haut niveau entre les deux pays. François Hollande avait d'ailleurs récemment rencontré son homologue turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pour lui proposer une visite d'Etat.

10 September 2013 by Kim Helfrich - defenceWeb

A major message coming through on day one of the SA Joint Air Defence Symposium (SAJADS) is that without political will across the region the implementation of a Southern African Development Community-wide air defence network will not become reality.

This was illustrated by defence analyst Helmoed Heitman who told the 350 plus delegates that few understood the potential of air power in peacekeeping, stabilisation and constabulary operations in Africa.

This because air defence was regarded by many of no real relevance in Africa, mainly because it is considered in conventional warfare terms and “the conventional wars there have been in Africa have not been studied”.

He said air power “in one or more forms will always be an element – usually a critical element – of any military operation” on the continent citing its sheer size, the generally large theatres and areas of operation as well as the poor condition of overland transport infrastructure and the small size of the majority of African militaries as reasons for this.

“In most cases air transport will be the only practical means of moving and supplying forces and combat attack and transport helicopters will be the only practical means of focussing and re-focussing combat power as situations develop,” Heitman said.

The relevance of a regional air defence system to South Africa and the wider region, he said, was based on “simple, self-interest”.

“South Africa needs a peaceful and prosperous neighbourhood within which to develop its economy, both to attract vital foreign fixed capital investment and because, as Sergio Vieira, a one-time senior Mozambican intelligence official put it ‘paupers make bad neighbours’ – not that our immediate neighbours are necessarily paupers but their economies are too small to provide the markets we need.

“SADC as such also needs a peaceful and prosperous neighbourhood, for much the same reasons, and also because as former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa said ‘if your neighbour is not stable, you cannot be stable for too long. If your neighbour collapses, the fallout will not respect the boundary between you’.

“The bottom line is South Africa and SADC need the peace, security and stability without which it will be impossible to undertake any meaningful economic activity.”

In this regard he quoted Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula who said: “There is no possibility of development and economic success for a South Africa surrounded by a pool of instability, war and hunger”.

He also warned that it was not only the “good guys” who made use of air power pointing out there were dedicated air routes used for smuggling, among others, valuable mineral ore as well as drugs and weapons.

“Air power in its widest sense will form a key element in many of the security challenges that will face Africa over the next few decades – from the occasional conventional or semi-conventional inter-state war through to insurgency and terrorism to organised crime. The trend is clearly visible and there are good examples to be found in Latin America and South-east Asia.

“The air defence community will need to accept, understand and digest that reality, and then develop a set of doctrines to deal with it. And they will have to persuade their colleagues in the other services of the need to think unconventionally in respect of air defence, not least in how one conducts offensive counter-air operations: Not many would see an infantry platoon placed at an air field or a long-range sniper team covering one from a hill two kilometres distant in that role, but that will in some cases be the only or at least the optimal solution. Imagination is required, not just professional competence.”

In terms of imagination going into air defence systems Lieutenant Commander Ben Wahl, anti-air officer on the SAS Spioenkop, came up with one in his presentation on netcentric integration of air defence systems in SADC.

He said the continuing presence of budget constraints had, in Ghana, been overcome by issuing fishermen with camera capable mobile phones.

“The country knows it cannot properly patrol its fishing waters and bringing fisherman who are on the water into the equation helped enormously. They are taught how to use the phones and once pictures of suspected fish poachers are taken they are sent to a control room from where scarce assets can be deployed without the need for continuous patrolling.”

His innovative approach sees off-the-shelf commercial portable computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones working together to provide short, sharp burst of information on to commanders to enable fast decision-making when it comes to airspace violations.

He envisages the Internet browser as an example of a simple, cost efficient system to carry this information with the added bonus of information carried being outdated less than a minute after transmission and so obviating the need to make it “hacker-proof”.

Rear Admiral Rusty Higgs, SAN Navy Chief Naval Staff officially opened the 2013 iteration of SAJADs in the absence of Navy Chief, Vice Admiral Johannes Mudimu, at the CSIR Conference Centre in Pretoria.

12/07/2013 Actu Terre

Depuis le 6 juillet 2013, un détachement d’artilleurs sol-air du 68e régiment d’artillerie d’Afrique (68e RAA) a rejoint le dispositif de sureté aérienne (DSA) à Paris pour le 14 Juillet.

Au côté de l’armée de l’Air, nos soldats assurent la protection du ciel parisien jusqu’au jour de la fête nationale avec 3 pièces Mistral déployées. Leurs missions : surveillance et détection.

Les premiers jours sent consacrés à la mise en place du dispositif interarmées, notamment de la chaîne de transmission des informations.

Les artilleurs sol-air connaissent parfaitement la mission, récurrente et axée sur leur cœur de métier. Leur véritable atout dans le DSA : une caméra thermique, utilisable de jour comme de nuit, pour assurer une meilleure visibilité de l’espace aérien.

WILLIAMTOWN, New South Wales, July 11, 2013 – Boeing

Through a five-year, 66.7 million Australian dollar ($60.45 million) contract with the Australian Department of Defence, Boeing [NYSE: BA] will provide enhanced support services for Vigilare, the air defense command and control system that is giving the Australian Defence Force unparalleled ground and airborne situational awareness.

Through remediation of the multiyear performance-based contract, signed on July 1, Boeing Defence Australia (BDA) will provide engineering, maintenance, supply and training services, and system updates.

“This contract provides Defence with more effective and flexible Vigilare support arrangements, enhancing No. 41 Wing operational outcomes while delivering promised savings to the Australian government as part of Defence's Strategic Reform Program,” said Group Captain Dean Overend, Officer Commanding Ground Telecommunication Equipment Systems Program Office.

Since becoming operational in mid-2010, the Boeing-built Vigilare has become the core of the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) air defense surveillance network, providing battlespace management that supports operations and training. In near real-time, Vigilare integrates information from many platforms and sensors to support operations at tactical and strategic levels. The system facilitates interaction with assets including the RAAF’s Boeing Airborne Early Warning & Control Wedgetail, Hornet and Super Hornet aircraft, and Royal Australian Navy vessels.

“The contract ensures that this essential air surveillance and battle management system continues to be cost-effectively maintained and relevant to the Australian Defence Force’s requirements, including the need to be interoperable with a wide range of defense and civil systems,” said Bill Madley, BDA general manager for Information & Operational Services.

Vigilare operates from the Northern Regional Operations Centre and Eastern Regional Operations Centre, located at RAAF Bases Tindal, Northern Territory, and Williamtown, New South Wales, respectively.

Boeing Defence Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing, is a leading Australian aerospace enterprise. With a world-class team of more than 1,300 employees at 15 locations throughout Australia and two international sites, Boeing Defence Australia supports some of the largest and most complex defense projects in Australia.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $33 billion business with 59,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense.

11/06/2013 Royal Navy

With a keen eye on the future HMS Queen Elizabeth Carrier Programme, a Fleet Air Arm Airborne Surveillance and Control Squadron, working with the French Navy’s Carrier Air Group, (CAG) on a major French Navy Air Defence exercise has proved an outstanding success.

The 849 Naval Air Squadron deployment of two Sea King Mk7 Airborne Surveillance and Control (SKASaC) helicopters facilitated participation in a multi-national Air Defence exercise with the French Navy Carrier Air Group (CAG) and a Squadron of Swiss Air Force F /A-18 D Hornet fighters.

Four Squadrons make up the French CAG: two of Rafale fighters, (11F & 12F), one of Super Étendard fighters (17F) and a E2-C Hawkeye squadron (4F) which provide carrier strike and airborne early warning for the Flagship of the French Navy, the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, FS Charles de Gaulle.

Operating from the French Naval Air Station at Landivisiau in Brittany the pair of Sea Kings from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose cemented further, long-established links in Anglo-French relations.

The deployment was fully integrated within the Air Defence Exercise and supported by not only the superb logistical support with host nation infrastructure, but also from the French CAG Operational Planning Staff, who planned and executed the joint exercise.

Integration was fundamental between the two nations and the employment of the SKASaC in the core role was a key enabler. This included fighter control training missions for the CAG strike assets on their way to attack naval surface vessels from France and the UK, providing some of the highlights during the training.

The Air Defence Week exercise is part of the operational work-up that the French CAG has to complete before joining up with the FS Charles De Gaulle and being declared ready to deploy.

“This exercise proved an excellent opportunity for SKASaC and its air surveillance and fighter control capabilities,” said Lieutenant Commander Jim Hall, Senior Observer of 849 NAS.

“We achieved a significant amount on so many levels.

"A comprehensive Airborne Surveillance and Control training programme provided the basis for the mission profiles, as well as continuation training for 854 NAS and the achievement of the Operational Conversion Phase for three ab-initio aircrew students who will be deploying in the near future on Operations.

"It also proved an excellent chance to re-establish links with the E2-C Hawkeye Squadron who are affiliated to 849 NAS.”

Overall the Sea Kings achieved over 40 hours flying and completed 16 mission sorties conducting control of the Carrier strike (CS) assets, with mission profiles including Maritime Strike missions and Composite Air Operations (COMAO) against ground targets.

Captain Mark Garratt, Commanding Officer of RNAS Culdrose, took the opportunity to visit the detachment and secure closer links with his French counterpart at the French Naval Air Station Landivisiau

"We can learn a great deal from each other. This exercise has proved the mutual benefit to be gained from working closely together in challenging operational scenarios.”

Jun. 5, 2013 - By JAROSLAW ADAMOWSKI – Defense News

WARSAW — The Polish Ministry of Defense is aiming to purchase middle-range anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems, the ministry’s Armament Inspectorate said in a statement. The procurement is part of Poland’s plans to overhaul its missile defense system from 2014 to 2023.

The ministry invited interested manufacturers to participate in a dialogue through which they will be provided more detailed information on the technical and strategic requirements of the procurement. The deadline for applications is June 21, the statement said.

In addition to middle-range systems, the Polish ministry is planning to acquire short-range missiles. Under the plan, deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2017.

Poland’s National Security Bureau estimates that acquisition of a new missile defense system could be worth between 8 billion zloty and 12 billion zloty (US $2.5 billion to $3.75 billion).

In April, Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski signed a bill on modernizing and financing the Polish Armed Forces that secured a separate stream of funding to overhaul its missile defense system. According to the bill, the funds will be set aside from the country’s defense budget from 2014 to 2023.