Britain sends its ‘Sky Sabre’ air-defense system to guard Polish skies

LONDON – A British air-defense system that has only been in service for a few months is being deployed to Poland to bolster that country’s capabilities, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced during a visit to Warsaw March 17.

The move is part of a wider upgrad e of NATO assets in Poland and elsewhere in Eastern Europe, which has seen personnel and equipment deployed to the region to deter possible Russian aggression.

“The deployment of Sky Sabre medium-range, anti-air system to Poland with 100 personnel will help protect her airspace from any further aggression from Russia,” Wallace said following a meeting with his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak.

Late last year London and Warsaw announced they had signed a letter of intent to develop a Polish air defense system based on Sky Sabre.

The British have yet to announce when they expect to field the system, but it is thought likely the deployment will not last longer than six months.

Provision of the system for duties in Poland is possible because a long-planned delivery to the British Army is being accelerated.

The Sky Sabre deployment is the second British initiative to bolster Eastern European nations’ air defenses.

Earlier this month the British revealed they had agreed in principle to provide StarStreak short-range air defense missiles to the Ukraine, Poland’s neighbor to the east.

The MBDA-developed Sky Sabre system officially took over from the Rapier missile as Britain’s medium-range, anti-air weapon at the start of this year. The weapon is already to be deployed in the Falkland Island as part of the British territories’ defenses.

The system comprises the Sky Sabre missile alongside a Saab-built Giraffe agile, multi-beam surveillance radar and Rafael command-and-control equipment.

Meanwhile, the German defense ministry announced Thursday it would supply Poland’s southern neighbor Slovakia with Patriot air-defense capabilities. Officials in Berlin declined to provide details, citing security concerns. Slovakia shares a border with Ukraine measuring roughly 60 miles north to south.

The commitment follows through on a pledge by Germany to also deploy a company-strong Army formation for an “enhanced vigilance activity battlegroup” to Slovakia. The unit is expected to grow to a full battlegroup size by April.

Sebastian Sprenger in Washington contributed to this report.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——英国国防大臣本·华莱士3月17日在访问华沙期间宣布，一套仅服役数月的英国防空系统将被部署到波兰，以增强该国的防空能力。

此举是北约在波兰和东欧其他地区资产升级计划的一部分，该计划已向该地区部署人员和装备，以阻止俄罗斯可能的侵略。

“向波兰部署‘天空佩刀’中程防空系统及100名人员将有助于保护波兰领空免受俄罗斯的进一步侵略，”华莱士在与波兰外长马里乌什·布拉什恰克会晤后表示。

去年年底，伦敦和华沙宣布双方已签署意向书，将基于“天空佩刀”导弹系统开发波兰防空系统。

英国尚未宣布预计何时部署该系统，但据信部署时间不会超过六个月。

由于向英国陆军交付该系统的长期计划正在加速进行，因此该系统得以在波兰投入使用。

“天空佩刀”战斗机的部署是英国为加强东欧国家防空能力而采取的第二项举措。

本月初，英国透露，他们已原则上同意向波兰东部的邻国乌克兰提供“星光”（StarStreak）短程防空导弹。

今年年初，由MBDA公司研发的“天空军刀”（Sky Sabre）防空系统正式取代“长剑”（Rapier）导弹，成为英国的中程防空武器。该武器已部署在福克兰群岛，作为英国海外领地防御体系的一部分。

该系统包括“天空佩刀”导弹、萨博公司制造的“长颈鹿”敏捷多波束监视雷达以及拉斐尔公司的指挥控制设备。

与此同时，德国国防部周四宣布，将向波兰南部邻国斯洛伐克提供“爱国者”防空导弹系统。柏林官员以安全为由拒绝透露更多细节。斯洛伐克与乌克兰接壤，南北边界长约60英里。

德国此举兑现了此前向斯洛伐克派遣一个连级陆军部队组成“加强警戒行动战斗群”的承诺。预计该部队将于4月扩编为完整的战斗群。

华盛顿的塞巴斯蒂安·斯普伦格对本报道亦有贡献。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。