Poland to buy a large number of missiles from the U.S. for US$ 3.6 billion
The US Government authorized the possible sale to Poland of 1,798 missiles for its Air Force fighters, for approximately USD 3.6 billion.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) issued three communiqués informing of the approval for the sale of air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles to the Government of Poland.
Sidewinder
- 232 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II tactical missiles;
- 16 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II tactical missile guidance units;
- Together with associated equipment, spare parts, support systems and training, the estimated cost of this sale would be $219.1 million.
AMRAAM
- 745 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM);
- 16 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM guidance sections;
- 50 LAU-129 Guided Missile Launchers;
- Also included are AIM-120 captive air-training missiles, missile containers, spare parts, test equipment, support equipment, training, technical and logistical support for maintenance and operation, totaling an estimated cost of $1.69 billion.
JASSM-ER
- 821 AGM-158B-2 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles with Extended Range (JASSM-ER) All-Up-Rounds;
- Also included is classified AGM-158 JASSM test equipment; weapon system support; training, spares, documentation, etc. valued at approximately $1.77 billion.
The Polish Air Force already has this type of munitions (or their previous versions) in its inventory, so it already nominally has the capabilities offered by these missiles. If this purchase is completed, it would be a significant increase in its stock of air-launched missiles, in line with a serious preparation for a large-scale conflict, and/or as a deterrent to a possible Russian aggression.
See also: Why did the FA-50 win in Poland? F-15EX and KF-21 on the horizon
All three types of missiles can be used by Polish Air Force F-16s and future F-35s. The recently acquired KAI FA-50s should also be able to be armed with the Sidewinder X and AMRAAM C8, but the JASSM-ER air-to-surface missiles should be integrated, although South Korea is developing a lightened version of the German Taurus for integration on this single-engine fighter.
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