US Congress OKs sale of air defence missiles to Poland

The US Congress has cleared the sale of various types of air defence missiles to Poland, aiding the country’s efforts to strengthen its deterrence capabilities amid Russia’s more than 25-month-old war in neighbouring Ukraine, according to an announcement.

An AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM).Photo: Rhk111, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

„Great news for our military; the US Congress has approved the sale of air combat assets to Poland: JASSM-ER, AMRAAM and AIM-9X,” Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a social media post on Thursday.

„This will significantly strengthen our deterrence and defence capabilities,” he added.

The announcement came after officials earlier this month said that the US State Department had greenlighted the deal.

The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said on March 12 that Poland had requested to buy equipment including up to 821 „AGM-158B-2 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles with Extended Range (JASSM-ER) All-Up-Rounds;” up to 745 „AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM);” and 232 „AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II Tactical Missiles” for a total estimated cost of USD 3.68 billion.

US President Joe Biden this month reassured Polish leaders that American support for their country is „ironclad” amid growing concerns in Europe over Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

During a meeting with Poland’s President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk at the White House on March 12, Biden praised his country’s relationship with Poland, reiterating that Warsaw was a critical NATO ally for Washington, according to reports at the time.

The White House said in a statement on March 12 that Biden at the meeting „shared the United States will move forward with a new $2 billion Foreign Military Financing (FMF) direct loan to Poland to bolster its security and support its defense modernization using previously appropriated congressional funds. This loan will enable Poland’s purchase of additional U.S. defense equipment, further supporting U.S. jobs and our deepening security relationship.”

Biden „also shared that the United States will offer to sell Poland 96 AH-64 Apache helicopters. This is a major step to provide Poland’s armed forces with cutting-edge capability to defend itself, strengthen NATO interoperability, and further bolster the U.S. defense industry,” according to the statement.

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Source: IAR, PAP, dsca.mil