Poland is committed to modernizing its Armed Forces despite prolonged economic woes and will invest about $40 billion in its military within the next decade, Prime Minister Donald Tusk (photo) said Monday.

The modernization program’s priorities include the purchase of guided missiles for F-16 fighters, the development of special purpose forces and the naval missile division on the Baltic Sea, and the provision of a sufficient number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the military, Tusk said.

“In making the decision to sustain defense spending levels during the economic crisis, we will see to it that those funds are used even more effectively,” the Prime Minister said.

He also reiterated Warsaw’s commitment to developing defense collaboration within the framework of the Visegrad Group (Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland).

“I have invited our neighbors from the Visegrad Group to work on our regional modifications of ‘smart’ defense,” he said.

Poland’s hope is that defense collaboration will help turn a regional air-defense and missile-defense system from a dream into reality, Tusk said.

 

Source: RIA Novosti