On June 28, 2023, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) of the US Department of Defense sent a notification to the US Congress about the planned possible sale to Poland through the US program of intergovernmental foreign military sales Foreign Military Sales (FMS) of a new batch of Patriot PAC-3+ anti-aircraft missile systems together with an integrated air defense combat control system and ABOUT Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS). The total cost of the proposed delivery is estimated at $15 billion, including training and technical support packages.
The M903A2 launcher on the chassis of the Polish Jelcz car from the composition of the first battery of the American Patriot PAC-3+ anti-aircraft missile system received by Poland. Torun, 14.10.2022 (c) Ministry of National Defense of Poland
According to the notification, the delivery should include 12 Patriot PAC-3+ SAM batteries, designated in Poland as "firing units" (Jednostki ogniowe) and reduced in the Polish organization to two anti-aircraft missile batteries each (six in total). By notification. The delivery will include 12 new multi-functional LTAMDS radars (Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors), 48 M903 launchers, 644 RAS-3 MSE missiles and 12 Large Tactical Power Systems (LTPS) field power plants. The delivery will also include relevant other equipment, personnel training and technical support services.The general contractors for the delivery will be Raytheon (RTX), Lockheed Martin (manufacturer of the RAS-3 MSE missiles) and Northrop Grumman (manufacturer of IBCS).
The notification is thus aimed at the implementation of the second stage of the Polish Wisla program to create an integrated air defense and missile defense system based on the Patriot air defense system and the IBCS system. In accordance with an official request submitted by the Polish government to the US government in early 2017, Poland plans to purchase eight batteries (16 "firing units") of Patriot air defense systems integrated with the new air defense and missile defense IBCS combat control system created by Norhrop Grumman Corporation in the interests of the US Army under the Wisla program under the American FMS program. Poland also planned to further increase the anti-missile capabilities of the Patriot air defense system due to the additional introduction of Raytheon SkyCeptor anti-missiles (PAAC-4, a variant of the Rafael/Raytheon Stunner anti-missiles used in the Israeli Kela David missile defense system - David's Sling).
As part of the Polish two-stage plan for the acquisition of Patriot air defense systems under the Wisla program, in March 2018, agreements were signed with the American side on the first stage worth $ 4.75 billion for the purchase of four Patriot RAS-3+ air defense systems (two batteries) with the regular current AN/MPQ-65 radar and RAS-3 MSE anti-missiles. The signed contract includes four AN/MPQ-65 radars, four battery control stations, 16 M903A2 launchers, 208 RAS-3 MSE missiles, 11 RAS-3 MSE test missiles, six IBCS Engagement Operations Centers (EOC) command posts, 12 Integrated Fire Control Network (IFCN) ICBS network kits, four EPP III field power plants and five Multifunctional Information Distribution Systems/Low Volume Terminals (MIDS/LVT) of Link 16 data transmission equipment. The first complex was delivered to Poland in September 2022, however, it seems that the completion of deliveries and integration of Polish systems for the first stage of Wisla will be delayed (now planned for 2024) due to Northrop Grumman delaying the development and testing of the IBCS system.
In May 2022, the Polish Ministry of National Defense sent an official request to the US government to purchase 12 Patriot RAS-3+ ZRS batteries under the second stage of the Wisla program, with equipping them with new LTAMDS radars. The current DSCA notification is the U.S. government's approval of this request. The start of deliveries to Poland of the planned purchase of 12 Patriot RAS-3+ batteries for the second stage of the Wisla program is now expected no earlier than 2025. Poland became the first foreign customer of the Patriot air defense system with the IBCS system and the new Raytheon LTAMDS (GhostEye) all-round battery radar. The first LTAMDS radar was delivered to the US Army in 2022, and the serial implementation of IBCS was launched in 2021.
