Mariusz Błaszczak approved the contracts at the 31st International Defence Industry Exhibition in the south-central Polish city of Kielce on Tuesday, state news agency PAP reported.
The agreements, worth PLN 100 billion (EUR 22.3 billion), include 48 new batteries of the US-made Patriot medium-range air defence system, components for the Narew short-range air defence system, equipment for two new Naval Rocket Units, and some 1,700 Polish-made FlyEye observation drones, according to officials.
At the signing ceremony in Kielce, the defence minister said: “It gives us great satisfaction that the Polish army is growing so dynamically.”
Błaszczak thanked everyone “who helped make these deals possible” and said that the new military equipment “will strengthen Poland’s security.”
The defence minister stated that Poland was "systematically and successfully building a multi-layered system of anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence.”
He added: “It includes the Patriot batteries, which are already in the Polish army’s arsenal. I have just approved an agreement for the second phase of the Patriot system.”
Meanwhile, President Andrzej Duda said that the new military equipment ordered on Tuesday would help “ensure the security of Poland and all its residents, as well as our neighbours and the whole eastern flank of the NATO alliance.”
The president added that Poland was determined “to defend every inch of its land” and hailed the country’s developing “state-of-the-art air defence system,” which he said was "going to be the most advanced in Europe,” the PAP news agency reported.
Tuesday is day 559 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP
