Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that talks on a service center for Patriot batteries are nearing a conclusion. “Everything indicates that Poland has been chosen as the partner for this project,” the head of government said.
At the start of a Council of Ministers (cabinet) meeting, the prime minister said he had received word from Deputy Defense Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, and confirmation from Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, that “talks on a service center for Patriot batteries are nearing their conclusion.”
Tusk stressed that Poland had worked hard to have “these competencies and this infrastructure located in Poland.” “We competed with several ambitious rivals, including Germany,” he noted.
“Many, many things point to it. I can’t announce anything yet, I’m not authorized to, but a great deal indicates that around the time this cabinet meeting ends, we will receive good news that Poland has indeed been chosen as the partner for this project, which is extremely important from the standpoint of defense,” the prime minister said.
Poland has long sought to host a service center for PAC-3 MSE missiles, the most advanced missiles used in Patriot air defense systems. Currently, these missiles are produced and serviced only in the United States. As a result, among other things, missiles in the arsenals of European armed forces must periodically be shipped across the ocean to have their condition inspected.
Locating a service center in Poland would not only shorten wait times and speed up servicing of missiles from European arsenals, but could also be a first step toward future production of PAC-3 MSE missiles in Poland, which the Polish government is also seeking.
Increasing the volume of these missiles is now critical because of their ability to counter ballistic missiles, used by Russia and Iran, and because stocks in the U.S. and in American-allied states in the Middle East have been significantly depleted by the ongoing conflict in that region. In Europe, the key challenge remains delivering these missiles to Ukraine so it can effectively defend itself through another winter against Russian missile attacks, which are often aimed at civilian energy infrastructure.
Demand for the missiles, combined with European allies’ efforts to build up their own stocks, is now a major challenge for the manufacturer of the PAC-3 MSE, Lockheed Martin, which produces only a few hundred missiles a year. Lockheed Martin says it will speed up production to 2,000 in the coming years, but the current level of output is already causing clear delivery delays. (PAP)
Deputy Defense Minister: I Think the Patriot Missile Service Center Will Open Around the Turn of 2027/28
Deputy Defense Minister Paweł Zalewski said Tuesday that establishing a Patriot missile service center in Poland is “a matter of several, a dozen or so months, the turn of 2027 and 2028.” “That’s what I think,” he added.
The Ministry of National Defense announced Tuesday that the United States had decided to locate a PAC-3 missile service center for Patriot air defense systems in Poland. Poland had been seeking that decision for months; in the longer term, the goal is to bring a factory for the scarce missiles to Poland.
In an interview on Radio ZET, Zalewski, assessing the decision on the service center, said that “it is a good day for Poland and for Europe, because this is an investment that will have a European character.” He stressed that locating the investment in Poland will improve our security.
Zalewski added that PAC-3 missiles for Patriot batteries are today “the only missiles, or the only air defense system, that is effective against ballistic missiles, which has been confirmed in Ukraine.”
Asked when the service center would be established in Poland, Zalewski replied that “it is a matter of several, a dozen or so months; (…) the turn of 2027/2028.” “That’s what I think,” Zalewski noted.
He stressed that the Polish Armaments Group (Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa), the state-owned defense conglomerate, will be involved in the investment. The deputy defense minister did not name a location for the service center.
Missiles for Patriots are currently one of the most important needs, if not the most important, of Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia. Patriot systems are among the few Western technologies that can shoot down incoming ballistic missiles, which the Russians regularly use to strike Ukrainian cities.
Because of their level of technological sophistication, production volume of the missiles has been fairly small in recent years, and individual missiles are known for their price, which can reach about $5 million apiece.
Patriot systems are also becoming a key element of Poland’s air defense system, forming its “highest layer,” as Patriots can counter threats at a distance of about 100 km and an altitude of about 30 km.
Under the Wisła program, Poland’s air defense troops have already received two Patriot batteries, which reached operational readiness last December. With that order in 2018, Poland also bought about 200 PAC-3 MSE missiles. In the next phase of the program, six more Patriot batteries were ordered, along with about 600 modern missiles; deliveries of this equipment were supposed to be completed by 2029, but they are now likely to be delayed. (PAP)
