PAC-3 Missiles To Be Maintained in Poland — First Such Center Outside the USA

Poland will host the first maintenance center outside the U.S. for PAC-3 anti-aircraft missiles, which are used in Patriot air defense systems.

This was announced by Poland’s Deputy Minister of National Defense, Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka.

According to her, four countries — Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway — competed for the right to host the center. Poland’s proposal received the highest rating as early as the initial selection stage.

The decision was made by the U.S. government in cooperation with the American defense contractor Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the PAC-3 missiles.

According to an official statement from the company, the new facility will carry out the repair, refurbishment, maintenance, and recertification of the interceptor missiles.

The center will service missiles for NATO countries that operate Patriot systems. Its establishment will significantly reduce the time required to return missiles to service, as previously they had to be transported to the U.S. for such work.

Polish Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz previously noted that transporting the missiles to the United States, servicing them, and recertifying them could, in some cases, take up to two years.

According to Reuters, the cost of establishing the center will amount to approximately PLN 1 billion ($253 million). It is expected that it will take about a year or slightly longer to bring the facility into operation.

On July 7, Poland, the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden signed an agreement on the establishment of a European maintenance center for PAC-3 missiles during the defense-industrial forum at the NATO summit in Ankara.

In July, Militarnyi reported that Poland plans to cooperate with Ukraine in the production and maintenance of PAC-3 missiles for Patriot systems.

That same month, Warsaw also proposed to the U.S. that they launch a trilateral format for the production of these missiles with Ukraine’s participation.