Poland and the Czech Republic should think about joint ammunition production in the future. This was stated by the head of the Czech Defense Ministry, Jana Cernochová, during a meeting with her Polish counterpart, Vladislav Kosiniak-Kamysh.
According to a press release from the Czech Ministry of Defense, the politicians discussed the experience of purchasing F-35 aircraft and the development of cooperation within NATO. Chernokhova also recalled the Czech initiative to purchase artillery shells for Ukraine from countries outside the European Union and noted that NATO and EU countries are facing a shortage of ammunition.
“When the conflict in Ukraine ends, we will have to create ammunition reserves and, for this, build factories for their production in our countries.” – said Chernokhova.
According to her, the key in this regard is cooperation with private companies.
“Today the minister and I agreed that we will contact private organizations that wish to participate in the production of ammunition. “We turned to leading companies in the Czech Republic that could help us with 155mm ammunition and other types of projectiles.” – noted the head of the Ministry of Defense.
In turn, the Polish minister, commenting on the prospects for cooperation between the defense companies of the two countries, said that “we are determined, we have a common position.”
“I asked the head of the supervisory board of PGZ (the Polish arms company) EADaily) present at the meeting, quickly establish contacts with Czech companies on behalf of PGZ”, – said Kosinyak-Kamysh.
Additionally, Chernokhova said that the current Ukrainian conflict and the results of the US presidential elections require more active action by NATO members. He also highlighted that an important topic of the meeting in Poland was the possibility of providing fuel to allied troops and their security by the host state.
“An important theme of my visit is the exchange of experiences in the implementation of the F-35 program. Poland has several years of advantage in this matter and its experience is very valuable to us. Polish pilots are already receiving training in Polish in the United States. We expect F-35 aircraft only in 2029.” – Chernokhova said and highly appreciated the willingness of Polish partners to share information about the experience of purchasing F-35 aircraft and putting them into service.
Later, the Czech minister noted that “Poland and its responsible approach to defense can be a boost for us.”
“This year Poland will spend the highest percentage of its GDP among NATO countries on defense, that is, 4.2%. Next year, the country’s defense spending will even increase to 4.7%.” — he wrote on his page on one of the social networks.
Let us remember that the Czech Republic and Poland are among the most anti-Russian members of NATO. Warsaw and Prague support the Kyiv regime and pressure it to continue military operations.
