AFP,
The Polish defence ministry said Monday it had signed a 300-million-euro (375-million-dollar) contract to buy 2,700 Israeli Spike anti-tank missiles for the Polish army, in its latest move to come up to NATO standards.
The missiles are to be manufactured under licence in Poland at the Mesko factory in the southern city of Skarzysko Kamienna.
Under the 1.4-billion-zloty (300 million euro) contract signed by the ministry, the Mesko factory and Polish company Bumar, the army will between 2004-2013 take delivery of nearly 2,700 missiles made by Israeli company Rafael, defence ministry officials told a news conference.
“Poland will also buy 264 mobile rocket launchers, then the Patria AMV armoured vehicles which were bought by Poland from Finland will be fitted out in 2006 by the Mesko factory with the launchers,” Deputy Defence Minister Janusz Zemke, told a news conference.
In July Poland signed an overall 1.68 billion zloty (360 million euro) contract, covering the final assembly at the Mesko factory of the 2,700 Spike missiles and the delivery by Rafael of launchers.
The Spike missiles, which are equipped with a system of night navigation, passed tests carried out in Poland in November 2002.
Rafael competed with Russian, European and South African companies for the contract.
Poland, which joined NATO in 1999, has made costly efforts to upgrade its army which still operates with obsolete Soviet armaments dating back to Warsaw Pact times.
Over the past two years Poland has spent billions of dollars upgrading its military, buying 48 US Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter planes, 980 Finnish AMV Patria transporters and eight personnel carriers from Spain's CASA.
