Poland has refused to deploy Patriot batteries to the Middle East at the request of the United States
The United States has asked Poland to deploy one of its Patriot missile batteries and a portion of its PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles to the Middle East.
This was reported by the newspaper Rzeczpospolita.
The Americans have unofficially asked to consider the possibility of transferring one of the two Patriot air defense system batteries and PAC-3 MSE missiles, which are already in Poland and belong to the Polish Army.
The Polish Army has two Patriot batteries, comprising 16 launchers, which reached full operational readiness by the end of 2025. The system is capable of destroying enemy missiles and aircraft at ranges of up to 100 km, and the launchers can use approximately 200 PAC-3 MSE missiles ordered previously.
The six new Patriot batteries, ordered in the fall of 2023 along with approximately 600 PAC-3 missiles, are expected in 2027. Deliveries have not yet begun.
Following the publication of the article, Polish Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz emphasized on social media: “Nothing has changed in this regard, and we do not plan to redeploy them anywhere! Our allies know and understand how important our tasks here are. Poland’s security is our absolute priority.”
Thus, the Polish Patriot batteries and PAC-3 missiles remain in place to defend Polish airspace and NATO’s eastern flank, despite the U.S. request.
As a reminder, NATO is deploying another Patriot air defense system in southern Turkey, near the Incirlik Air Base. This is part of measures to strengthen protection against potential missile threats, particularly from Iran. Previously, the alliance had already deployed a similar system in another region of the country, and Turkey itself relies partly on its allies for air defense.
Spain has pledged to transfer five missiles for the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine amid a global shortage caused, in part, by the war in the Middle East.
