Saab AB signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Polish defense company Polska Gruba Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) to cooperate on the planning and delivery of Polish naval programs, the company said Wednesday.
The companies previously signed a letter of intent (LoI) earlier in 2016 to cooperate on several projects related to Poland’s defense modernization in the air, land, and naval sectors.This MoU includes cooperation on both surface ship and submarine construction for the Polish Navy and export customers.
Poland is currently looking to develop more modern defense capabilities through 15 priority modernization programs, including the purchase of submarines and surface ships, Saab said,
“I am convinced that the cooperation between Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa and Saab will be beneficial both for our partner and for the Polish Navy. Ensuring Polish security, also at sea, is one of the most important tasks for PGZ arising from the Technical Modernisation Plan,” Arkadiusz Siwko, CEO of PGZ, said in a statement.
“The signing of this agreement opens the door for the Polish defense and shipbuilding industries to a wide range of technological cooperation, while for the Polish Navy, it is an opportunity to procure the most modern ships,” he added.
Gunnar Wieslander, head of Saab Kockums, echoed this sentiment in explaining his company’s perspective.
“Saab sees the Polish market as very important and aims at developing an even stronger partnership. We share the same security challenges in the Baltic Sea and together we can work to deepen defence projects partnership and offer an unbeatable industrial offering to the Polish end customer,” Wieslander said in a statement.