MKE and Poland's PGZ agree to work together on close-in air defence

Türkiye's MKE — Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation — and Poland's state defence group PGZ signed a memorandum of understanding on air defence cooperation on 10 September 2026, at the 34th MSPO international defence industry exhibition in Kielce.

What a memorandum is, and is not

This is an agreement to work on something together, not a contract to deliver anything. No value, no quantity and no timetable were announced, and none is implied here.

What it covers

The two companies said they will study the integration of short-range air defence systems, with particular attention to non-kinetic solutions — those that neutralise a threat without expending ammunition. The stated aims are to close capability gaps in existing air defence and to improve interoperability between systems built to different standards. The cooperation is framed as covering the Turkish and Polish markets and potential export markets.

The memorandum sits under MKE's TOLGA close-in air defence system, and the company describes it as its second country partnership in Europe for that system; the first was with Hungary's HT Division earlier in 2026.

Who attended

Türkiye's Deputy Minister of National Defence, Musa Heybet, and the Turkish Ambassador to Warsaw, Rauf Alp Denktaş, were present at the signing. Neither was quoted in the agency report.

Why the association carries this

Interoperability is the unglamorous half of an alliance, and it is where two countries either do or do not actually work together. A memorandum to make two air defence systems talk to each other is a smaller headline than a contract and a better indicator of direction.

For the background on how Poland and Türkiye ended up in the same alliance with different equipment, see NATO, Poland and Türkiye.