WASHINGTON — The leaders of the US Congressional Caucus on Poland sent a letter to new Polish President Andrzej Duda praising Poland's decision to choose the Raytheon-made Patriot for its air-and-missile defense system as "a positive step."

The Sept. 23 letter, obtained by Defense News, comes amid uncertainty over what the new president may want for Poland's future air and missile defense system, among other weapons, as the country continues its to embark on an ambitious defense modernization.

The letter from Rep. Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill.; Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio; Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa.; and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., congratulates the new president on his inauguration and urges him to meet with the caucus during his next trip to the US or the delegation's next trip to Warsaw.

"As strong NATO allies, we share a commitment to protect our mutual security interests," the members write. "Deepening military to military cooperation and bolstering defense industrial cooperation is paramount in this regard."

Choosing the Patriot system "to meet your medium range air and missile defense requirements was a positive step toward that end," the caucus states. "You have no more dependable partner to safeguard your interests than in the United States."

The election of the Polish president has sparked a debate over whether recent procurement decisions to procure various weapon systems will be re-evaluated. Duda's political party, the PiS, was said to have reservations about the Patriot selection and appears to want to take a second look at other options.

"The party would like to check why the 40-year-old Patriot system has been selected while a more modern U.S. company, MEADS Group, has failed to convince the Polish authorities," an analyst for Poland's Polityka Insight, Marek Swierczynski, wrote in a paper earlier this year.

Poland picked Patriot for its Wisla medium-range air-and-missile defense system this spring, after a competition that included Lockheed Martin's Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), an offering from a French consortium and Israel's David's Sling.

The country plans to procure two Raytheon-made Patriot batteries in the most up-to-date configuration by 2019. Following that initial procurement, Poland would like to co-develop and co-manufacture a more modern version of the Patriot that meets all of its requirements, John Baird, Raytheon's vice president in charge of Polish efforts, told Defense News.

The development program will include a 360-degree active electronically scanned array AESA radar, a new battle command system and a multi-elevation launcher, Baird said.

Baird said there's been no indication that the Poles will change their minds about procuring Patriot following the election of the new president.

Yet, according to Marty Coyne, the director of MEADS International at Lockheed Martin, there is a likelihood that the Poles will want a system that looks like the US system and the US has decided to develop an integrated air and missile defense system. This already includes a battle command system from Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin-made interceptors. The Army still needs to select a launcher and radars and will likely hold a competition for the procurement of the latter.

The Army is expected to complete its analysis of alternatives for its future missile defense system within the next few months and if the results are positive for MEADS components, Coyne said, "there is a chance we are going to have another opportunity to come back into Wisla."

Email: jjudson@defensenews.com

Twitter: @jenjudson

Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.

Share:
More In Land