White House approves potential $15 billion arms sale to Poland
Air and missile defense planning and control system (api.army.mil)
The administration of American President Joe Biden approved the potential sale of an integrated air and missile defense battle command system (IAMD IBCS) to Poland. The contract for such a sale amounts to $15 billion, according to the statement on the website of the U.S. Department of State.
It is noted that the potential sale of weapons to Poland was reported to Congress on Wednesday.
According to the State Department's announcement, the proposed sale will "will improve Poland's missile defense capability and contribute to Poland’s military goals of updating capability while further enhancing interoperability with the United States and other allies."
The United States also expects that the sale of such weaponry will improve Poland's missile defense capabilities and contribute to achieving the country's military goals in terms of enhancing its potential "while further enhancing interoperability with the United States and other allies."
IBCS is a hardware-software system that helps integrate technologies from various units that were initially not designed to work together.
Poland modernizing its weaponry
Poland has been actively modernizing its army and acquiring modern weaponry in recent years. In January 2023, Poland signed a $1.4 billion contract with the United States for the delivery of 114 M1A1 Abrams tanks. Warsaw is also acquiring tanks and self-propelled artillery units from South Korea.
The Polish Ministry of Defense is also planning a program to acquire submarines. One of the main indicators will be the ability to launch cruise missiles.
In addition, the country will receive a large batch of HIMARS systems. In February 2023, the U.S. approved their sale to Poland. Prior to this, Poland requested the purchase of 18 M142 HIMARS launcher systems, 468 sets of missiles for them, and 45 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) units.
