The US will lend Poland a further $2 billion (8.1 billion zloty) to fund the purchase of American air and missile defence systems, the Polish Defence Ministry has announced.
The agreement, which marks the second such loan to Poland under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme following one in September last year, is “an expression of the continuously developing strategic relationship between Poland and the US”, writes the ministry.
It notes that such loans are available “only to selected U.S. allies with whom the United States maintains close defense cooperation” and says the terms are “very favourable”, though without revealing the details.
The air and missile defence systems that will be purchased through the agreement “are a priority for the Polish armed forces under current threats”, added the ministry.
In February, Poland signed a $2.5-billion deal with the US for an advanced air defence system and the US State Department also approved the $1.2-billion sale to Poland of four radar reconnaissance airships capable of detecting airborne targets.
Those purchases were the latest in a major procurement spree – mainly from the US and South Korea – embarked upon by Poland following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both last year and this year Poland is NATO’s highest relative spender on defence, devoting the equivalent of around 4% of GDP.
“The United States remains our main foreign partner in the modernisation of the Polish armed forces,” said the defence ministry in its statement yesterday.
Washington has not commented on the latest Foreign Military Financing agreement with Poland yet. (Notes from Poland)