US Backs $15 Billion Sale of Patriot Missile Defense Equipment to Poland
- Bolstering NATO’s eastern flank amid Russia’s war in Ukraine
- Deal is second phase of a project first approved in 2017
A US Patriot air defense missile systems at Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in Jasionka, Poland, on Jan. 9.
Photographer: Damian Lemański/BloombergThe US government approved the potential sale to Poland of Patriot missile defense equipment valued at as much as $15 billion, as Warsaw seeks to bolster its own security and that of NATO’s eastern flank amid Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The State Department announced its approval Wednesday after notifying Congress of the proposed sale. Unless Congress acts to block the deal, Poland can begin contract negotiations with suppliers led by Raytheon Technologies Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. under the Foreign Military Sales program. Those negotiations sometimes take years and result in the purchase of smaller quantities at a lower total cost.