Poland’s new government is willing to station part of the United States anti-missile defense system on its soil, the only such base not on American territory.
The US had been conducting secret basing negotiations with Poland. The new Polish government, however, prematurely made a public announcement about Poland’s willingness to base the system. This irritated Russian military leaders who stated that such a space umbrella in Central Europe would only make sense in a conflict with Russia. It is not clear what motivated this announcement, whether it was to prove Poland’s loyalty and willingness to share in US defense structures, to demonstrate to Russia that Poland is now firmly part of a Western defense system, to irritate officials in the Kremlin, or all of the above.
Poland would like the United States to spend more money on the F-16 offset program.
When Poland agreed to purchase F-16 aircraft from the US, Polish officials were promised that in exchange for this purchase the country would receive investment from American companies in the civilian sector, including research and development, and infrastructure. Polish officials have indicated that so far there have been many promises but little action in this regard.
