A Polish defense contractor has inaugurated a Patriot missile launch tube plant in the country’s east.
Production at the Deblin-based facility has already commenced, with the first order at an advanced stage of completion, TVP World reported citing Military Aviation Works 1 (WZL1), a unit of the state-owned defense entity Polish Armaments Group.
The company is still waiting on its export approval though, the Polish outlet added.
Both the US government and Lockheed Martin have certified the facility for the commercial production of the components.
‘Demand is Great’
“Demand is so great that we can safely think about increasing production,” TVP World quoted the plant’s director Bartłomiej Kacperczyk as saying.
An annual output of 150 launch tubes is being anticipated, the director added.
Part of Offset Agreement
The plant is part of an offset agreement between the Polish government and Lockheed Martin for the $4.75 billion Wisla program.
Multiple Patriot air and missile defense systems were agreed to be procured under the multi-phase program in 2018.
Poland finalized a deal last year to procure up to 48 Patriot Advanced Capability – 3 (PAC-3) launchers and 644 PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles from the US.
