US finalizes $4 billion military financing loan for Poland

A Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet sits on display at the MSPO trade show (Breaking Defense)

KIELCE — The US signed a $4 billion Foreign Military Financing (FMF) loan agreement with Poland today, a move Warsaw said is geared toward “supporting the technical modernization” of its armed forces and bolstering “transatlantic cooperation.”

Polish and US officials inked the lucrative financial package during a ceremony at the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw.

In a translated statement , Poland’s Minister of National Defense Władysław Kosiniak- Kamysz said that the new loan is the sixth of its kind, noting that the FMF mechanism has enabled Warsaw to buy the “best American equipment” available.

“All this strengthens the defense potential of NATO’s eastern flank,” he added. “Poland is the leader of NATO’s eastern flank, meeting all the expectations set for us as a European ally. Europe is taking greater responsibility” for its own security.

In a related X post , Magdalena Sobkowiak, Poland’s State Secretary for Defense said that in total, Warsaw has so far received $20 billion in FMF loans .

Pushing back on concerns around cutting back on US business, she jokingly aske d: “So how did that go about severing trade relations with the United States?”

The finalizing of today’s agreement follows initial reports that emerged in June, detailing Washington and Warsaw’s commitment to the $4 billion figure.

Poland has spent heavily on US-made defense equipment over the last decade, including procurement of F-35 fifth-generation fighter jets, AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks, Patriot-3+ air and missile defense systems, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, Javelin anti-tank missiles, and F-16 fourth-generation jet upgrades, according to a Congressional Research Service report .

Despite Warsaw’s statement not disclosing how the latest $4 billion loan will be spent, it could be put toward an acquisition of 32 additional F-35s, in support of an air superiority program requirement.

Although rival campaigns by Boeing, offering the F-15 and a Eurofighter Typhoon pitch have been active for months, Kosiniak-Kamysz announced in June that Warsaw is specifically eyeing a F-35 top-up order.

“There is no decision being made so far” regarding a potential second deal with Poland, Dennis Göge, Chief Executive Europe at Lockheed Martin, Breaking Defense on the sidelines of the MSPO trade show today. “We’re in discussions with the Polish customer to better understand the specific requirements.”

Poland has received eight of the stealth jets to date, in line with a $4.6 billion deal placed in 2020 for a fleet of 32 combat jets.

“We are always grateful and happy…to get those kind of capabilities into the customers’ hands, especially here at the Eastern flank, where it’s really needed,” added Göge.

一架洛克希德·马丁公司的F-35战斗机在MSPO贸易展上展出（Breaking Defense）

基尔采——美国今天与波兰签署了一项价值 40 亿美元的对外军事融资 (FMF) 贷款协议。华沙方面表示，此举旨在“支持波兰武装部队的技术现代化”，并加强“跨大西洋合作”。

波兰和美国官员在华沙波兰军队博物馆举行的仪式上签署了这项利润丰厚的财政协议。

波兰国防部长瓦迪斯瓦夫·科西尼亚克-卡米什在一份翻译声明中表示，这笔新贷款是第六笔此类贷款，并指出外国军事基金机制使华沙能够购买“最好的美国装备”。

他补充说：“所有这些都增强了北约东翼的防御能力。波兰是北约东翼的领导者，不负作为欧洲盟友的所有期望。欧洲正在承担起更大的自身安全责任。”

在相关的 X 帖子中，波兰国防部国务秘书玛格达莱娜·索布科维亚克表示，华沙迄今为止总共已收到 200 亿美元的 FMF 贷款。

针对有关削减美国业务的担忧，她开玩笑地问道：“那么，切断与美国的贸易关系是怎么进行的呢？”

今天最终敲定的协议是在6月份的初步报道之后达成的，这些报道详细介绍了华盛顿和华沙对40亿美元的承诺。

据美国国会研究服务处的一份报告显示，过去十年，波兰在美国制造的国防装备上投入巨资，包括采购F-35第五代战斗机、AH-64E阿帕奇攻击直升机、M1A2艾布拉姆斯主战坦克、爱国者-3+防空和导弹防御系统、高机动性火箭炮系统、标枪反坦克导弹以及F-16第四代战斗机的升级。

尽管华沙方面并未透露最新一笔 40 亿美元贷款将如何使用，但该笔贷款可能用于购买 32 架额外的 F-35 战斗机，以支持空中优势计划的需求。

尽管波音公司几个月来一直在积极推销 F-15 和欧洲战斗机“台风”，但科西尼亚克-卡梅什在 6 月份宣布，华沙方面特别关注 F-35 的追加订单。

洛克希德·马丁公司欧洲首席执行官丹尼斯·格格今天在MSPO防务展期间接受Breaking Defense采访时表示，关于与波兰可能达成的第二笔交易，“目前尚未做出任何决定”。他补充说：“我们正在与波兰客户进行磋商，以更好地了解他们的具体需求。”

波兰迄今已接收了 8 架隐形战机，这是波兰在 2020 年签署的价值 46 亿美元的 32 架战斗机的合同的一部分。

“我们始终心怀感激和喜悦……能够将这些能力交付给客户，尤其是在东翼，这里真的非常需要这些能力，”格格补充道。