Poland chosen as the site for a €227 million European service center for PAC-3 missiles

The decision was made in Washington

Poland will become the location of the European maintenance center for PAC-3 missiles used in Patriot air defense systems. The decision to localize the project was made by the US authorities; its cost is estimated at about one billion zlotys (€227 million). This was reported by Euronews.

The competition and the parties' assessments

Poland's Deputy Minister of Defense Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka announced the decision on the social network X, noting that the Polish bid received the highest score at the submission stage, but the final decision came after months of negotiations with the American side. According to her, the center will be important not only industrially but also strategically. Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called the choice of Poland a confirmation of its significance as a US partner. Michael Duffey, the Pentagon's procurement chief, described the decision as a signal of the alliance's unity and a serious approach to deterrence. According to the Pentagon, the project fulfills commitments on defense industry cooperation adopted at the NATO summit in Ankara in July 2026 under the 'NATO 3.0' concept. Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden will also take part in integrating key elements of the supply chain, according to the American agency.

What has been decided and what has not

So far the decision on the location has been made only in principle: the Polish side still has to hold further negotiations with the American manufacturer Lockheed Martin, and, according to Sobkowiak-Czarnecka's estimate, 'at least several months' will pass before the center begins operating. The Polish facility is expected to handle missile maintenance, keeping them serviceable and ready for use. For Poland, which under the Wisła program has already received two Patriot batteries (which reached combat readiness last December) and ordered about 200 PAC-3 MSE missiles in 2018, with the next stage providing for six more batteries and about 600 missiles to be delivered by 2029, the ability to service missiles on its own territory could shorten repair times and improve combat readiness — the outlet cites this among the expected effects.

Context: the question of a permanent US base

The decision on the maintenance center coincides in time with the advancement of another American-Polish project — the creation of a full-fledged permanent US military base on Polish territory. In June the Polish government approved the start of formal negotiations, led by Defense Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz. President Karol Nawrocki has convened a meeting of the National Security Council for November 3, where the permanent base is also on the agenda: under initial plans it is to accommodate about 5,000 American service members, and its cost is estimated at 15–17 billion zlotys (€3.41–3.86 billion). US President Donald Trump, when asked about this proposal on October 1, replied that the administration is considering it: 'It could happen.' Currently about 10,000 American troops are in Poland, mostly on a rotational basis.