DOPPELADLER.COM

Minister of Defence of Belgium Theo Francken and his Polish counterpart Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz signed a letter of intent (LoI) on 12 May at Polish company Mesko in Skarżysko-Kamienna, covering co-operation between their two countries on strengthening air and space capabilities on manportable air-defence systems (MANPADSs).

The Belgian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on its website on 12 May that Belgium plans to buy 200–300 Piorun MANPADSs.

In addition to MANPADS, the LoI covers co-operation on strengthening aerial capabilities through consultations on unpiloted vehicles and joint training with Polish F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) pilots, as well as by making materiel available. Kosiniak-Kamysz noted that Poland and Belgium are procuring the same model of the F-35 and that the first Polish pilots were training on the aircraft in the US, as will their Belgian counterparts.