On September 5, 2023, during the MSPO-2023 defense and industrial exhibition that opened in Kielce (Poland), Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak approved the signed agreement with the US Department of Defense (in the form of an exchange of Letters of Offer and Acceptance - LOA between governments) for the supply of Poland through the US program of intergovernmental foreign military sales Foreign Military Sales (FMS) of six more batteries of American Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems in the PAC-3+ configuration with a new Integrated Air Defense and Missile Defense Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS). This agreement means 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.
M903A2 launchers on the chassis of Polish Jelcz cars from 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
The cost of the agreement has not been officially disclosed. This agreement does not include the supply of the main elements of the IBCS system itself, for the purchase of which a separate agreement must be concluded in the future.
Recall that in a notification issued in June 2023 by the US Department of Defense Agency for Military Cooperation (Defense Security Cooperation Agency - DSCA) to the US Congress about the planned sale to Poland through the FMS of the now contracted six Patriot PAC-3+ anti-aircraft missile systems, the total cost of the proposed delivery was indicated at $ 15 billion, including training packages and technical support.
According to the DSCA notification, this agreement should include 12 Patriot PAC-3+ air defense systems, designated in Poland as "fire units" (Jednostki ogniowe) and reduced in the Polish organization to two anti-aircraft missile batteries each (six in total). In accordance with the notification, in total, this delivery should include 12 new multifunctional 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 supply are Raytheon Corporation (RTX), Lockheed Martin (manufacturer of the RAS-3 MSE missiles) and Northrop Grumman (manufacturer of IBCS).
In accordance with an official request submitted by the Polish government to the US government in early 2017, Poland planned 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) through FMS 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. As you can see now, the supply of the ICBS system has generally been transferred to a separate agreement in the future.
In May 2022, the Polish Ministry of National Defense sent an official request to the US government to purchase 12 Patriot RAS-3+ air defense systems under the second stage of the Wisla program, with equipping them with new LTAMDS radars, which are now contracted. Deliveries to Poland of the ordered 12 Patriot RAS-3+ air defense systems under the second stage of the Wisla program are expected from 2026 to 2029. Poland became the first foreign customer of the Patriot air defense system with the IBCS system and the new all-course LTAMDS (GhostEye) battery radar developed and manufactured by RTX Corporation (Raytheon). The first LTAMDS radar was delivered to the US Army in 2022, and the serial implementation of IBCS was launched in 2021.
In combination with the contract signed by Poland at the same time for the purchase of 23 CAMM-ER medium-range air defense batteries under the Narew program, these acquisitions will make Poland the owner of the most powerful and modern air defense system among European NATO countries.
(c) Ministry of National Defense of Poland
A new LTAMDS (GhostEye) multifunctional radar station developed and manufactured by RTX Corporation (Raytheon) for the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system at the exposition of the MSPO-2023 Defense and Industrial exhibition in Kielce (Poland), 05.09.2023 (c) Leszek Chemperek / Ministry of National Defense of Poland
