Poland buys hundreds of Naval Strike Missiles in $2 billion deal

Poland has ordered “several hundred” Naval Strike Missiles in a deal worth 8 billion zloty (U.S. $2 billion), according to the country’s weapons procurement agency.

Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak signed the deal for two new naval missile units for its existing Naval Strike Missile anti-ship system. The contract will enable the military to boost its coastal defense capabilities along the Baltic Sea.

The contract, awarded to Norwegian company Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace, covers the supply of “command vehicles, missile launchers, and several hundred anti-ship NSM missiles,” according to the Armament Agency.

Geir Håøy, president and CEO of Kongsberg, said in a statement that this deal is the largest single contract in the company’s history.

Deliveries are scheduled to take place from 2026 to 2032. Under the contract, Polish defense companies will be involved in supplying the weapons in cooperation with the Norwegian business, the agency said.

The announcement was made on the first day of this year’s MSPO defense industry show. The event runs Sept. 5-8 in Kielce.

The Naval Strike Missile is a sea-skimming, over-the-horizon missile with a range exceeding 185 kilometers (115 miles), according to Kongsberg.

Several regional countries are enhancing their naval strike capabilities in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In May 2023, Latvia’s government voted to authorize the purchase of Naval Strike Missiles to bolster its Baltic Sea defense capabilities.