Leonardo (formerly Finmeccanica) and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa S.A. (PGZ), one of the largest defence companies in Central Europe and the biggest in Poland, have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for a long-term strategic partnership in the Defence and Security market. The goal is to strengthen the competitive position of both companies on the international market.

Under the agreement, Leonardo will support PGZ with its technology and products, and PGZ will cooperate with Leonardo on industrial and logistic support activities. The LOI establishes a significant technology transfer to PGZ with the aim of generating significant high-technology activities and job creation for the two companies in the years to come. In Poland, Leonardo has already made significant investment in the rotary wing sector following the acquisition of PZL-Swidnik.

The agreement identifies a wide range of industrial cooperation between both companies. PGZ and Leonardo announced their intention to begin cooperating in the fields of rotary wing platforms and services, land systems, naval systems, unmanned aircraft, fixed wing systems and services, as well as space technologies.

In the helicopter sector, the agreement foresees a wide scope of cooperation, including joint programmes for the domestic and the international market. In the military trainer segment Leonardo will start to deliver the M-346 aircraft by November 2016. The agreement with PGZ includes the opportunity to extend activities to simulation and ground-based training systems and logistic support for the Deblin Air Base.