Poland buys long-range cruise missiles from the U.S.
Poland and the U.S.A. signed an agreement for the purchase of JASSM Extended Range missiles, which have an operating radius of almost 1,000 kilometers. The contract is worth 940 million zlotys ($222.78 million at 1 zloty = $ 0.237).
"An agreement between the representatives of Poland and the United States was signed a few days ago and guarantees Poland the receipt of the JASSM Extended Range missiles – a modern rocket weapon with a reach of about 1,000 km," the Ministry of Defense of Poland announced.
According to information provided by the U.S. Defense Security and Cooperation Agency (DSCA) in November, the U.S. State Department has agreed to supply Poland with the guided JASSM-ER air missiles. They are designed to destroy ground targets at a distance of a thousand kilometers.
According to the DSCA, the U.S. State Department has agreed to supply 70 combat JASSM-ER missiles, as well as eight training sets and two simulators. According to existing unofficial information, Poland intends to acquire 40 operational missiles.
Information regarding the purchase of the missiles was confirmed by Poland's Defense Minister, Antoni Macierewicz. The surface-to-air extended range JASSM-ER missiles will be used with Polish F-16 planes. The Lockheed Martin Corporation manufactures both the missiles and the planes.
Poland became the first country in the world outside the United States that has signed a contract for the purchase of JASSM-ERs. Deliveries of the missiles should begin next year. Australia and Finland have also bought these missiles.
In December of 2014, the Polish Ministry of Defence signed a contract for the purchase of JASSM missiles in their basic AGM-158A version with a range of up to 370 km. The contract was worth about $ 250 million. The delivery included 40 missiles, together with testing and measuring equipment and equipment needed to integrate the rocket into the fighter. JASSM missiles even in their basic version are a very efficient and high-precision weapon, which allows attacks to be repelled quickly.