Poland has signed an agreement to purchase the Raytheon-built Patriot integrated air-and-missile defense platform from the U.S. government.
Pete Bata, vice president of Polish air and missile defense at Raytheon, said in a statement published Wednesday the letter of offer and acceptance will pave the way for the company to place contracts in Poland that will lead to the creation of jobs in the European country and the U.S.
Bata noted that Raytheon will continue to work with Poland™s state-owned defense contractor, PGZ, to help build up the country™s defense industry and use Poland™s investment to maintain and modernize the Patriot system.
The LOA came days after Poland signed potential 10-year offset agreements with Raytheon and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) related to its procurement of the Patriot system through the Wisla program, a two-phase missile defense procurement effort.
The signing of the LOA marks the initial phase of the Wisla initiative, while the second phase will focus on the acquisition of additional Patriot fire units, SkyCeptor interceptor missiles and gallium nitride-based active electronically scanning array radars.
Poland has become the 15th country and 7th NATO member to procure the Patriot system that works to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones and aircraft.
