Land Warfare Poland set to reap the benefits of being in the Patriot family

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Poland’s planned purchase of the Patriot air and missile defence system significantly enhances the security picture in Eastern Europe, and brings operational, training and interoperability benefits to NATO. Warsaw announced the signing of the letter of offer and acceptance for Patriot on 28 March under Phase I of the ‘Wisla’ programme, a development that locks Poland into the global supply chain for the system. Poland’s purchase of the combat-proven Patriot would ‘absolutely enhance the security’ of the country, according to Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. ‘Poland will now become the seventh NATO member and 15th nation overall to become part of the Patriot family. This is the most capable air defence system in the world and it will give them integrated operating capability with other NATO countries and provide enhanced security, not only for Poland but also the NATO alliance,’ he explained. ‘The offset agreement that was signed allows the maximum extent of technology transfer allowed by US law. So, it’s a huge deal that is going to create a lot of jobs not only in Poland but also in the United States. But more importantly it allows Polish industry to now become part of the global supply base for the Patriot system,’ Kremer added.

View full-size image As part of this first phase, Raytheon will deliver two Polish-configured batteries – four fire units – of the medium air and missile defence system in an IBCS-enabled Patriot Configuration 3+. This consists of four AN/MPQ-65 radar sets, 16 M903 launching stations and PAC-3 MSE missiles. A ten-year offset agreement with Raytheon was announced by Poland’s Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak on 23 March, which will include technology transfer that will ‘strengthen the capacity of the Polish defence industry’. This arrangement reduces reliance on outside suppliers and meets Poland’s stringent offset requirements, and also means that domestically manufactured Patriot components can potentially be exported to the other 14 customers for the system worldwide in the future. Raytheon is ultimately aiming to have 50% of the Patriot programme remain in Poland across Phase I and II, explained John Baird, VP of Poland programmes for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. Several Polish companies under the state-run PGZ armaments group have already been earmarked for domestic production of Patriot items. Poland has stated it intends to introduce a number of enhancements under Phase II of the programme, including the SkyCeptor missile, which will be assembled in Poland by Mesko; additional Patriot fire units; a 360-degree GaN AESA radar; and Polish unique sensors integrated into the IBCS command and control architecture – although the final configuration remains under negotiation.

The 2010 visit was the first time a US missile system had come to Poland for a rotational training programme intended to familiarise the Polish armed forces on the Patriot system. (US Army photo) US Army soldiers familiarise members of the Polish military on how to conduct preventive maintenance on the Patriot missile system in Morag, Poland, in 2010. (US Army photo) The 2015 demonstration consisted of experts from the battery, briefing visitors on equipment purposes and capabilities. (US Army photo) The 2015 visit helped to strengthen and maintain the strong partnership with Polish forces by providing them with first-hand knowledge of air defence capabilities within NATO. (US Army photo) Polish soldiers assigned to Air Defense Artillery with soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Smith Barracks, Baumholder, Germany, in 2015. (US Army photo) In a 2015 visit to 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Smith Barracks, Baumholder, Germany, Polish soldiers were briefed about individual pieces of equipment. (US Army photo) Soldiers signal the area is clear while emplacing the Patriot radar set during Panther Assurance, an interoperability deployment readiness exercise in 2016 at Skwierzyna, Poland. (US Army photo)

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