Poland signed a contract on Monday to build 48 launchers for the US-designed Patriot air and missile defense systems to boost Warsaw’s military capabilities.
The eastern European country has accelerated the modernization of its armed forces after Russia began a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022.
According to the deal signed on Monday, the M903 launchers will be produced at Stalowa Wola steelworks in Poland and are expected to be delivered to the Polish army between 2027 and 2029.
“This contract strengthens Polish security,” Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters after signing the deal worth $1.23 billion.
Poland, a staunch ally of Ukraine, has announced it would spend more than four percent of its annual economic output on defense this year — double NATO’s target of two percent.
On Friday, Poland inked a deal with the United States to buy hundreds of AIM-120C AMRAAM air-to-air missiles.
According to Polish media, Warsaw and Washington will in the coming days sign another defense deal on the purchase of 96 US-made AH-64E Apache combat helicopters valued at more than $9 billion.
Washington gave the green light for the deal last year, which will allow Poland to replace its aging fleet of Soviet-era Mi-24 helicopters.