US Announces $2 Bn Loan to Help Bolster Poland’s Arsenal with F-35s, Patriots, Abrams

The US Department of State announced a second $2 billion Foreign Military Financing (FMF) direct loan agreement with Poland on Monday to help modernize the Polish military.

The loan would help Warsaw purchase an unspecified number of F-35 aircraft, Patriot missile systems, and Abrams main battle tanks.

The US also praised Poland’s contribution to NATO in its press release.

“Poland is a stalwart US Ally, and this deal will further strengthen NATO’s Eastern Flank … Poland is a leader in NATO, currently spending four percent of GDP on defense, the highest in the Alliance. Poland hosts thousands of US and Allied forces, including US V Corps Headquarters (Forward) in Poznan,” it read.

According to Lockheed Martin, the plane’s manufacturer, Poland purchased 32 F-35A Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) variants in 2020, which would be stationed at the airbase in Świdwin and Łask once operational.

The first F-35 stealth multirole fighters Poland purchased in 2020 are expected to arrive by 2026, whereas training for Polish pilots is expected to start at the Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas this summer.

Poland also donated at least 10 Soviet MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine as it modernized its arsenal.

An F-35A is expected to cost $82.5 million per unit, whereas a Patriot battery – complete with power plants, radar sets, and other equipment – is estimated to cost $1 billion per unit. An M1A1 Abrams tank is estimated to cost upwards of $10 million per unit. This does not include costs associated with munitions and maintenance. 

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The FMF is a US defense initiative that “enables eligible partner nations to purchase US defense articles, services, and training through either FMS or, for a limited number of countries, through the foreign military financing of direct commercial contracts program (FMF/DCC) [Direct Commercial Contractor],” according to the program’s official site.

In addition, the US is also providing financial assistance to subsidize the interest of the latest loan.

“The US government is providing up to $60 million in Foreign Military Financing to subsidize the interest rate cost of this loan, which will help accelerate Poland’s defense modernization by supporting urgent procurements of defense articles and services from the United States,” read the press release.