Poland is feverishly preparing and equipping itself to become the largest and most sophisticated non-nuclear military power in Eastern Europe. With the Russian threat visible, Poland began the largest procurement of US conventional weapons in history, starting in February 2022, immediately after Russian troops invaded Ukraine.
Closely following the war in Ukraine and realizing the importance of an effective air defense to achieve the victory of the ground forces in a military confrontation, the Polish civil-military leadership came to the conclusion that it is imperative to upgrade the country’s air defense and therefore decided to proceed with the purchase of American Patriot anti-aircraft missiles.
Poland is feverishly preparing and equipping itself to become the largest and most sophisticated non-nuclear military power in Eastern Europe. With the Russian threat visible, Poland began the largest procurement of US conventional weapons in history, starting in February 2022, immediately after Russian troops invaded Ukraine.
Closely following the war in Ukraine and realizing the importance of an effective air defense to achieve the victory of the ground forces in a military confrontation, the Polish civil-military leadership came to the conclusion that it is imperative to upgrade the country’s air defense and therefore decided to proceed with the purchase of American Patriot anti-aircraft missiles.
The United States has approved the sale of the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System to Poland, worth about $15 billion. The deal covers more than 600 missiles.
The US State Department has approved Poland’s request to buy Patriot.
The request in question includes the procurement of 48 Patriot M903 missile launchers, 644 Patriot PAC-3 MSE missiles, 48 launcher interface kits, 12 Air and Missile Defense Sensors (LTAMDS), and significant additional equipment.
The commission’s total bill will come to about $15 billion.
The US State Department’s statement on the sale, in which Raytheon and Lockheed Martin will be the prime contractors, noted:
“The implementation of this proposed sale involves approximately forty (40) US government officials and/or forty-five (45) defense company representatives who will handle equipment development, systems inspection. These officers will be required to travel to Poland where they will remain for an extended period of time providing training, technical and logistical support.
The buyer requested countervailing benefits which will be determined in the negotiations with the project contractor companies.
“The implementation of this proposed sale involves approximately forty (40) US government officials and/or forty-five (45) defense company representatives who will handle equipment development, systems inspection. These officers will be required to travel to Poland where they will remain for an extended period of time providing training, technical and logistical support.
The buyer requested countervailing benefits which will be determined in the negotiations with the project contractor companies. The above sale will enhance Poland’s missile defense capability and further enhance interoperability with the United States and other allies, while contributing to Poland’s goals of increasing its military capabilities. Poland will have no difficulty adapting this equipment to its armed forces.”
Poland’s massive armaments program
We remind that in March 2022, Warsaw signed the purchase of Patriot missiles worth 4.75 billion dollars, strengthening the country’s anti-missile defense system.
As the war progressed in Ukraine, with a massive Russian barrage of MLRS and submarine-launched cruise missiles, Poland also requested an additional six Patriot systems in late May.
This was not the first major purchase by the country, which prepared for the worst by making its biggest tank purchase ever, ordering 250 M1 Abrams tanks from the US.
As the geopolitical landscape evolved, with Russia continuing operations in Ukraine, Poland continued its arms drive.
This included a major arms purchase from the South Korean military technology giant, including 180 K2 tanks to be delivered by 2024 and another 400 by 2030. In addition, Poland purchased 48 FA50 light attack aircraft, 1,400 IFVs and 670 additional K9 self-propelled guns.
Defense Minister Blaszczak also said that Poland will increase its active forces to 400,000 with an increase in defense spending to 3% of the country’s GDP.
Arguably one of the top defense purchases made by Poland was that of 500 HIMARS from the USA. Poland has also ordered 800 Hellfire II missiles for its future AW149 and AH-64E Guardian helicopters.
For this purpose, the Polish Ministry of Defense ordered 32 multi-role AW149 helicopters from the Italian group Leonardo, in a contract worth 1.75 billion euros. The first delivery should take place this year.
In recent days, Warsaw said it had restarted the Orka program to acquire at least three submarines and announced its intention to procure two Saab 340 AEW&C early warning aircraft from Sweden.
