Poland, Canada seal defense cooperation pact, set to finalize drone deal

Poland's WB Group displays a Warmate loitering munition at the MSPO trade show in Kielce (Breaking Defense)

KIELCE — Poland and Canada have signed a defense cooperation agreement aimed at enhancing bilateral ties, with a focus on joint exercises, military training and stronger relations between their local defense industries .

Poland’s Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and his Canadian counterpart David J. McGuinty signed the Memorandum of Understanding here on Monday, before the opening of the MSPO trade show organized from Sept. 8-11 — Poland’s largest arms exhibition.

“Canada’s presence as an exhibitor, a country showcasing its capabilities, skills, and companies, but also a country that wants to purchase Polish military equipment, demonstrates how our position on the international stage has changed in recent months and years,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a statement .

He noted that Polish soldiers will head to Canada to participate in Arctic drills, adding, “We will learn, cooperate, and exercise together.”

The lawmaker also cited existing cooperation, chiefly including Canada’s deployment of an estimated 2,000 personnel in Latvia. “The Polish contingent is also present there as one of the leading contingents securing the [NATO] Alliance’s eastern flank,” he shared.

Aside from the training agreement, Kosiniak-Kamysz said that both countries will also finalize a drone deal today. The package reportedly includes a host of platforms produced by WB Group, including FlyeEye mini-drones, Warmate loitering munitions and Gladius strike and reconnaissance aircraft.

The new deal “shows that Poland is moving from a country that purchased defense equipment worldwide to [now being] a producer as well,” according to Kosiniak-Kamysz.

Canada is the lead partner nation of MSPO, represented by nearly 200 local companies across aerospace and space, AI, cybersecurity, and land and maritime systems, per show organizers.

The deepening Canadian-Polish ties follow the two sides’ agreement to leverage the European Union’s €150 billion (174 billion) Security Action for Europe (SAFE) loan mechanism, by way of a Letter of Intent signed in May.

SAFE is designed to increase the production capacity of the European defense industry as the continent attempts a large-scale rearmament process in the face of Russian aggression and tries to lessen its dependence on US weapon systems.

波兰WB集团在凯尔采举行的MSPO贸易展上展示了Warmate巡飞弹（Breaking Defense）

基尔采——波兰和加拿大签署了一项旨在加强双边关系的防务合作协议，重点是联合演习、军事训练以及加强两国国防工业之间的联系。

波兰国防部长瓦迪斯瓦夫·科西尼亚克-卡米什和加拿大国防部长戴维·J·麦金蒂周一在此签署了谅解备忘录，此前，波兰最大的武器展览会——MSPO贸易展（9月8日至11日举行）即将开幕。

科西尼亚克-卡米什在一份声明中表示：“加拿大作为参展商，展示了其能力、技能和公司，同时也希望购买波兰的军事装备，这表明我们在国际舞台上的地位在近几个月和几年里发生了怎样的变化。”

他指出，波兰士兵将前往加拿大参加北极演习，并补充说：“我们将一起学习、合作和演练。”

这位议员还提到了现有的合作，主要包括加拿大在拉脱维亚部署了约2000名人员。“波兰特遣队也驻扎在那里，是负责保卫北约东翼的主要特遣队之一，”他说道。

除了培训协议外，科西尼亚克-卡梅什表示，两国今天还将敲定一项无人机交易。据报道，该协议包括WB集团生产的一系列平台，例如FlyeEye迷你无人机、Warmate巡飞弹和Gladius攻击侦察机。

科西尼亚克-卡米什表示，这项新协议“表明波兰正在从一个向全世界购买国防装备的国家转变为（现在也是一个）生产国”。

据展会组织者称，加拿大是MSPO的主要合作伙伴国，有近200家本地公司参展，涵盖航空航天、人工智能、网络安全以及陆地和海洋系统等领域。

加拿大和波兰的关系日益加深，此前双方于 5 月份签署了一份意向书，同意利用欧盟 1500 亿欧元（1740 亿）的“欧洲安全行动”（SAFE）贷款机制。

SAFE计划旨在提高欧洲国防工业的生产能力，因为欧洲大陆正试图在面对俄罗斯侵略的情况下进行大规模的重新武装，并努力减少对美国武器系统的依赖。