iHLS:
Poland will purchase Raytheon’s Patriot Air and Missile Defence (AMD) systems. The sale will include four AN/MPQ-65 radar sets, four engagement control stations, 16 launching stations and 208 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles, according to a new notice to the U.S. Congress by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
The Polish deal has a “ceiling” price of $10.5 billion, but both U.S. and Raytheon officials have explained that this figure accounts for the possibility of follow-on buys and other options that could be exercised in “phase two” of the program. The overall cost of “phase one” is expected to be approximately $7.6 billion (U.S.).
According to ainonline.com, Poland selected the Patriot system in 2015 after a lengthy evaluation of alternatives such as the Israeli Rafael David’s Sling; the MBDA-Thales Eurosam/SAMP-T; and the Medium Extended Air Defence System (MEADS) from a consortium led by Lockheed Martin.
