Poland signs $2.5 billion deal for US air-defense software hub

2024.02.29 2 min read

WARSAW, Poland — The Polish Ministry of National Defence has signed a $2.5 billion deal with the U.S. government to acquire the Integrated Battle Command System, or IBCS, to synchronize the nation’s air- and missile-defense weapons under development.

Deliveries are scheduled for the years 2024 to 2031. Poland intends to use the system to operate its Patriot missile launchers, which are part of the Wisla medium-range, air-defense program, and the Narew short-range equivalent, which relies on MBDA’s Common Anti-Air Modular Missile, or CAMM.

The acquired systems will be used for six Wisla batteries and 23 Narew batteries, the country’s defense ministry said in a statement

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s deputy prime minister and national defense minister, signed the contract during an official ceremony on Feb. 29. “We will be the second country, after the United States, to have this system, an integrated command system,” he said.

Kosiniak-Kamysz was sworn in on Dec. 13 as a new Cabinet replaced the ousted government of the right-wing Law and Justice party.

Poland’s Oct. 15, 2023, parliamentary election, which paved the way for a change in government, prompted U.S. manufacturer Northrop Grumman to host an event with top executives in Warsaw in November to advertise the program during the transition.

With the purchase now secured, it appears that the new defense leadership here will stick to the previous government’s procurement schedule for the key components of the Wisla and Narew programs.

C4ISRNet