#AIR DEFENSE

The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of Mobile Ground Control Approach (GCA) systems to Poland for an estimated cost of $105 million, the Pentagon said on Friday.

Two bipartisan members of a U.S. security commission have written to President Joe Biden, requesting permission for Poland to shoot down Russian missiles over Ukrainian airspace.

Switzerland has signed up to the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), the government said on Friday, a project that seeks to build a unified air and missile defense system across Europe.

Tusk met Ireland’s PM Simon Harris to discuss Ukraine, defense and European policy.

A Russian aerial bombardment of Ukraine that started on Sunday night has continued into Tuesday, causing extensive damage to the power grid.

Poland has signed a contract for the procurement of several hundred U.S.-made air-to-air missiles, a deputy defense minister announced on Friday.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said he wants to double the country’s air defense capacity over the summer after receiving the third German-supplied Patriot system.

The Ukrainian air force successfully intercepted and shot down five Russian missiles and 48 out of 53 drones across nine regions overnight, the Ukrainian military announced on Friday.

European Council president, Charles Michel, announced that the proposal by Poland and Greece to establish a common EU air defense shield has received widespread support from EU member states.

Sources familiar with confidential defense plans from last year indicate that NATO states can provide less than 5% of the air defense capacities needed to protect central and eastern Europe against a full-scale attack, the Financial Times reported.

Countries that “do not have available systems, have pledged to provide financial support to purchase them for Ukraine,” said Jens Stoltenberg.

Poland’s Defense Ministry issued a statement emphasizing that the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), backed by NATO, is not only beneficial to air defense systems developed by Germany but could also be advantageous to Poland in terms of joint purchases of military equipment, among other things. The announcement came following claims from Poland’s former Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, saying that the initiative only favors Germany.

The Ukrainian president made this remark following Iran’s retaliatory drone strike against Israel on Saturday.

The Estonian Centre for Defence Investments has signed a contract with Moldova’s Defense Ministry and the Czech arms company ERA for the purchase of a radar system for Moldova, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported Wednesday.

“Allies understand the urgency,” said Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance’s Secretary General.

Throughout March, Russia intensified its airstrikes on Odesa, with the Black Sea port city and its surrounding region facing attacks almost daily.