The Ministry of Defence has begun talks with the US and other countries concerning the purchase of Tomahawk cruise missiles for the modernisation of Poland's navy.

Minister of Defence Tomasz Siemoniak confirmed the matter on Thursday in an interview with Polish Radio.

The long-range missiles would be part of the armoury of a number of forthcoming submarines.

''We are preparing for the introduction of submarines of a new kind,'' Siemoniak said.

''We want them to be equipped with cruise missiles.''

Although the schedule foresees three submarines over a 15-year-period, the minister said ''we want to start the [missile] procedure this year.''

NATO 'Spearhead' exercises in June

Meanwhile, Siemoniak confirmed that about 5000 NATO soldiers are set to take part in US-led exercises in Poland in June.

''Germans, Dutch, Norwegians, Poles and Czechs will be participate [in the exercises],'' he said.

The soldiers are training for NATO's high-readiness 'Spearhead Force', which was mooted at the NATO summit in Newport, Wales, in September 2014.

"I think this is a very clear signal that NATO is taking its decisions and commitments made at Newport seriously," Siemoniak cincluded. (nh)