Ministers of Defence of Poland and Sweden met present at a conference in Gdańsk devoted to the strategical partnership of both countries. According to the head of the Swedish MON, negotiations will begin this period on the lease of the alleged gap-filler, a temporary ship where Polish sailors will be trained until a unit from the “Orka” programme is deployed.
Operation Baltic Sentry in the Baltic Sea.
After the morning visit to the War Port in Gdynia Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and his Swedish counterpart Pål Jonson took part in the conference "Conversations on Baltic Sea Security: Strengthening the Polish-Swedish strategical Partnership". The event at the Gdańsk Coast Theatre was celebrated by the visit of Karol XVI Gustav and Sylvia, a Swedish royal couple who is in Poland for an authoritative visit.
– We're gathering on a peculiar day, present it's precisely 27th anniversary of Poland's accession to NATO – said Kosiniak-Kamish during the discussion panel. – We are already permanently enrolled in the Alliance, but NATO was never as strong as erstwhile Sweden entered it," he added. The head of the Polish MON besides pointed out that if he was to indicate on the map of Europe present a partner who understands us best, supports us, invests and co-responsors for our security, that is Sweden.
The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that Sweden is an iron ally, but besides a friend of Poland, and it is with this country that we are building a fresh safety architecture today. “We are the most dynamic part of Europe, which understands what Russia is, what threats it carries and how to respond to them”, said the Polish minister. This answer, as Kosiniak-Kamish said, is both the preparation of a strong army, but besides a strong alliance and the resilience of society. “We are absolutely in the European vanguard and we have nothing to be ashamed of,” stressed the head of the MON.
During the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister besides stressed the importance of Baltic Sea as a key operating space. As he said, there is no another akin reservoir where in specified a short time there would be so many incidents related, among others, to cable cutting, GPS signal jamming or airspace breach.
Conference on Baltic Sea Security: Strengthening the Polish-Swedish strategical Partnership.
At the same time, the Polish minister mentioned the request to produce low-cost air defence systems. "The attack systems will be cheaper and more efficient and the air defence has someway stopped," he argued. – We focused on great, best systems – Patriot and others, but without what we in Poland call an anti-drone strategy SHORAD (Short scope Air Defense, short-range air defense), stressed the Deputy Prime Minister. In his opinion, it is crucial to make capabilities based on various types of effectors specified as multi-barrel, high-speed device guns, 30–35 mm caliber cannons and radio-electronic combat systems utilized against kamikaze drones.
During the discussion Kosiniak-Kamysz besides referred to the issue of the alleged French umbrella, i.e. the change of the French atomic doctrine, on which another European countries could benefit, among others, Poland. – We should not put each other's dilemmas in NATO, we should put them in Russia. The French parasol is not to be an alternate to atomic sharing [American atomic weapons deployed in Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey – ed.], but is to be a complement to it," said the head of the MON. He stressed that all decisions related to nuclear deterrent They must be made allied. "There is no situation that in NATO we will build rival atomic capabilities that will not complement each other. It is precisely the other – Kosiniak-Kamish pointed out.
New phase “Orki”
– We welcome the awesome modernization of the Polish defence system. We share the same safety environment and the assessment of the risks with which we face – he emphasized in his speech Pål Jonson, who had already arrived in Poland for the seventh time in little than a year.
Swedish Minister informed that Polish-Swedish Orca programme He's entering a fresh phase. This period negotiations on the lease of HMS Södermanland will begin. It's going to be called. gap-filler, i.e. the temporary ship on which Polish sailors will be trained until the first contracted unit of the “Orka” is in service. This will guarantee that Polish seafarers keep the ability to operate submarines while waiting for fresh vessels and will influence interoperability building. – Sweden is ready to train Polish submarine officers in classrooms, simulators, wharfs and at sea – the Swedish minister said. The training programme assumes that most of the submarine crew will come from Sweden and Polish sailors will gradually take over their positions as training progresses.
After the conference, agreements (Memorandum of Understanding) were signed between representatives of SAAB and WB Group and SAAB and Polish Armed Forces Group. The first agreement concerns cooperation in the improvement of autonomous marine unmanned platforms, the strategy Gladius and the Future Task Force plutonium combat module.
In turn, the agreement between SAAB and PGZ-et sets out the intention to cooperate in establishing national capabilities to repair and repair submarines from the Orka programme. As the Polish MON emphasises, these agreements represent an crucial step in strengthening Polish-Swedish cooperation in the defence manufacture and safety of the Baltic Sea region.
The conference in Gdańsk was organized by the Kazimierz Pulaski Foundation, the Embassy of Sweden in Poland and Business Sweden, the Swedish organization of trade and investment promotion.
