Poland signs agreement on producing Javelin missiles

American defence giants Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have reached an agreement that would see Poland become the first country outside the US to manufacture Javelin anti-tank missile systems.

A memorandum of understanding was signed this week between Javelin Joint Venture (JJV) – a partnership between Raytheon and Lockheed Martin – and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ), Poland’s state defence industry holding company.

Under the agreement, the parties will seek to establish a final assembly facility and component production capabilities in Poland for the Javelin system, which has proved effective in Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s invasion.

PGZ 🤝 JJV

The recently signed MOU agreement explores production of the Javelin anti-tank weapon system in Poland, which will further support the delivery of this combat-proven weapon system to the global Javelin community.https://t.co/cFcblq0se8 pic.twitter.com/toH7MtDcme

— Lockheed Martin Europe (@LMEuropeNews) September 7, 2023

“Together with PGZ, we are exploring a number of opportunities to leverage the resident skills and expertise of Polish industry for Javelin co-production,” said Andy Amaro, president of JJV.

“With growing demand for Javelin, these new industry partners can play a vital role in supporting the production and delivery of this combat-proven, fire-and-forget weapon system,” he added.

“This partnership will strengthen our relationship with Poland and ensure they have the deterrence capabilities needed to support their national security,” said JJV vice-president Dave Pantano. Poland’s territorial defence forces have been certified in the use of Javelin systems since 2021.

Poland has announced a €427 million programme to increase ammunition production in response to growing demand amid the war in Ukraine.

Its efforts to ramp up production this week received EU backing https://t.co/iZki41PIoW

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) March 30, 2023

Industry news service Breaking Defense notes that, should the memorandum of understanding lead to production capabilities, Poland would become the first country outside the US to manufacture Javelins.

Paula Hartley, Lockheed Martin’s general manager of tactical missiles, told Breaking Defense that “Poland’s proximity to Ukraine” was a factor the firm had taken into account in reaching the agreement.

Przemysław Kowalczuk, a member of PGZ’s management board, hailed the deal with JJV as “the result of many years of hard work”, reports the Gazeta Wyborcza daily. Polish defence firm Mesko, which is part of PGZ, will be the main contractor responsible for manufacture.

Poland has announced a deal to sell Krab self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine for almost 3 billion zloty (€650 million) in a record arms export deal for the country https://t.co/FVaFkn9oAk

— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) June 10, 2022

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Main image credit: Defence Imagery/Flickr (under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.