Defense News:
WASHINGTON — Poland’s Ministry of Defense has posted a statement to its website shedding light on its way forward to procure a new air-and-missile defense system, confirming, in essence, that nothing is decided.
Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz made headlines after he announced at a major Polish arms conference last week that he had formally authorized a letter of request for information be sent to the US government to buy the US Army-owned Patriot. He specified that Poland would want the first two systems to have Northrop Grumman’s not-yet-fielded Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) included and the following six Patriots would have a new 360-degree radar, which Patriot does not currently have.
Several reports in the country interpreted the statements to mean Poland had made a final decision to buy Patriot.
But an announcement the following day from Lockheed Martin and Poland’s leading state-run defense group PGZ that they intended to partner to develop an AMD offering for Poland’s Wisla program (the program’s official name) glazed the country’s plans going forward with a layer of confusion.
PGZ has also signed an agreement with Raytheon, the manufacturer of Patriot, in July to develop missile defense technology as well.
Lockheed said Poland was also sending another letter of request to the US government asking for more information on its Medium Extended Air Defense System.
Poland has gone back and forth with its procurement decision since it expedited its plans to buy a new AMD system several years ago due to fears of Russian aggression in the region.
Initially in the running for the Wisla program was Raytheon’s Patriot, the MEADS system, Israel’s David’s Sling and an offering from a French consortium. However, in an effort to buy something more quickly, Poland eliminated the developmental systems – MEADS and David’s Sling – from the competition.
In 2015, Poland announced it would procure two, but up to eight, Patriot systems, but an election in November upended those plans as the new government opted to reconsider recent acquisition decisions to include Wisla.
Poland’s MOD published on Sept. 11 a report on the progress in developing the framework for its Wisla program, stating it had sent a letter of request to look at the possibility of buying eight Patriot batteries. Two would be Patriot Configuration 3+, which is the current and most modern configuration, with an integrated IBCS battle command system, according to a translation of the posting.
The report notes that Poland then wants the option — starting with the third battery — to change the currently offered radar for a “new active antenna,” with 360-degree capability against threats and wants an open architecture for the system. The MOD also states it wants Active Electronically Scanned Array Gallium Nitride technology in the radar.
The report notes that the Polish government wants the first two Patriot batteries by 2019 and all eight by 2026.
The country’s MOD also states, according to the translation, “It is foreseen that the initial draft agreement (LOA) will be delivered by the American side already this year. On the basis of the content of the LOA further negotiations will take place.”…
