Poland will test its first Patriot missile defense system it acquired under contract with the US on Friday, the country's Defense Minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, said
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th October, 2022) Poland will test its first Patriot missile defense system it acquired under contract with the US on Friday, the country's Defense Minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, said.
"Very soon, tomorrow, we will be able to demonstrate the first results of our work. We will present the first Patriot system, which is ready to defend the Polish air, tomorrow at Torun base camp," Blaszczak told reporters after a NATO defense chiefs meeting on Thursday, adding that Poland had both air defense and missile defense systems thanks to its cooperation with the UK and US.
The Polish Defense Ministry noted later in the day that President Andrzej Duda would watch the Patriot test as well.
Poland plans to create an intermediate-range air defense system in the country based on Patriot missile defense. Under the contract Warsaw signed with the US in 2018, the first two batteries of Patriots were delivered to Poland earlier this year. The Polish military also said it was going to purchase six additional batteries.
Warsaw and Washington have numerous programs intended to boost their military cooperation and increase US military exports to Poland, including the Patriot program, the HIMARS program for M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, and the program for the purchase of F35 fighter jets, as well as the recently started program for the purchase of Abrams tanks.
After the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine, the US decided to deploy an additional 4,700 American troops to Poland on top of the nearly 5,000 military personnel which are routinely located in the country.
