Poland likely to purchase second Naval Strike Missile system

16 January 2013 naval-technology.com

Poland is expected to procure a second ground-launched anti-ship Naval Strike Missile (NSM) system from Kongsberg Defence Systems to address potential threats in the Baltic Sea and strengthen its military defence capabilities.

Polish chief of staff general Mieczyslaw Cieniuch was quoted by PAP news agency as saying: "We are currently evaluating the possible acquisition of another system, which would enable us to secure our entire coastline."

The procurement plan will be tagged with the Polish Navy's planned acquisitions, which involves purchase of two submarines and two ships by 2022, and a third vessel by 2026.

With an increase of around 6% in the Navy's 2013 budget to zl683m ($221m), the Polish Ministry of Defence (MoD) has plans to set aside an additional zl900m ($291.8m) each year to acquire naval weapons and vessels by 2030.

The second NSM system may be deployed to boost combat capabilities of the new vessels.

In December 2008, the Polish MoD placed a base contract for the NSM with Kongsberg and extended the award for additional missiles and logistics equipment in December 2010, bringing the total contract value to $123m.

Installed in the Polish Navy's coastal squadron system, the NSM systems will help maintain littoral combat capabilities from 2016-2022, when the country plans to downsize naval combat capacity, including decommissioning several vessels.

Developed as a successor to the Penguin anti-ship missile, the NSM is the only fifth-generation long-range precision strike missile featuring low observable shape, and I3R seeker with autonomous target recognition (ATR) for programmable hit-point and optimised fuse-setting.