MBDA and Poland to develop low-cost air defense against drones
The international defense company MBDA, which specializes in missile systems, will join forces with Poland's Military Institute of Armament Technology (WITU) to develop a low-cost air defense asset designed to counter large-scale drone attacks.
As TVP World writes, under the project WITU will provide the missile systems for mounting the Counter-Mass Interceptor (CMI) warhead made by MBDA, which the company's British division unveiled in July.
The system is expected to enter service next year, when the first test launches are due to take place. The parties announced the cooperation on Tuesday at Poland's largest annual arms exhibition and reported that preliminary tests had already begun in August.
According to MBDA, the CMI is a low-cost homing warhead designed to neutralize reconnaissance and strike drones at a distance of up to six kilometers.
The missile that WITU will develop is to be supersonic in order to counter the latest generation of high-speed drones, as well as cruise missiles, sources told the Polish agency PAP.
A representative of MBDA noted that the goal of the project is to create a missile whose cost would be roughly comparable to the cost of the targets against which it is used, and also to provide Poland with its own capacity for the mass production of anti-drone defenses. According to him, other European allies will also be able to take advantage of this technology.
MBDA plans to produce the CMI warhead in Poland, subject to Warsaw's approval.
The plans were announced at the International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO), which is considered the leading defense exhibition in Central and Eastern Europe. The event is held annually in the Polish city of Kielce.
The exhibition brings together defense manufacturers, military and government officials, and industry representatives from dozens of countries to showcase military systems and technologies and to discuss international security policy issues and defense procurement programs.
