Armed Forces
Poland: Over a Thousand of Missiles for F-16 and F-35
The Department of State has approved a potential Polish procurement of missiles for the use on F-16, F-35 and also FA-50PL fighter aircraft.
As the Polish President Andrzej Duda and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk started a visit in US, the State Department has approved three procurements of aerial weapon systems for the Polish Air Force.
Those include:
- Up to 821 AGM-158B-2 JASSM-ER, air to ground missiles, for up to USD 1.77 billion
- Up to 745 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, for up to USD 1.69 billion
- Up to 232 AIM-9X Super Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, for up to USD 219.1 million.
Each of the potential sales includes training and/or logistic support packages. The prime contractor for JASSM-ER is Lockheed Martin, while for AMRAAM and Sidewinder, RTX is the prime.
Polish Air Force is already using JASSM-ER missiles on its F-16C/D Block 52+, but the procurement – if fulfilled – would significantly enhance the inventory, which could be used by 48 Polish F-16, future F-35A, of which 32 have been purchased, and potentially also by the Rapid Dragon system, which has been tested on a Polish C-130E Hercules. JASSM-ER are air to ground low observable cruise missiles with a range of approx. 900 kilometers or more.
On the other hand, AMRAAM and Sidewinder are medium and short range Air to Air Missiles, that will be able to be carried not only by F-16 and F-35, but also 36 Polish FA-50PL procured from Korea in 2022 for USD 2.35 billion, that are planned to be integrated with the medium range air to air missiles.