Poland buys radar-homing missiles for its future F-35 fleet

WARSAW, Poland — The Polish Ministry of National Defence has signed a deal to buy more than 200 AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles-Extended Range (AARGM-ER) from the United States, becoming the region’s first ally to secure an advanced capability to destroy enemy radar emitters associated with air defense systems.

The contract to purchase the missiles, made by Northrop Grumman, comes as Poland is awaiting the delivery of the first batch of its 32 ordered F-35 fighter jets next year .

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said that the missiles will represent a significant reinforcement of the aircraft’s combat capacities, according to a statement released by his ministry.

Under the latest deal, Warsaw is buying “anti-radiation missiles that target, find and affect enemy air defense systems, anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said.

“This is a breakthrough purchase. Only in such a case, when we have fully equipped F-35 aircraft, with the possibility of also adapting to F-16 aircraft, are we able to effectively use all the capabilities of these most modern machines which will be used by the Polish Armed Forces,” the deputy prime minister added.

The contract has a net worth of some $745 million. Deliveries of the missiles are scheduled for the years 2029 to 2035.

Poland has boosted efforts to acquire new weapons and military gear for its armed forces in the aftermath of Russia’s 2022 invasion of its neighbor Ukraine. While allies along NATO’s eastern flank have responded by ramping up military expenditure, Poland has led the way, declaring plans to spend about PLN 160 billion (US$39.7 billion), or some 4.2 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), on its armed forces in 2025.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰国防部签署了一项协议，将从美国购买 200 多枚 AGM-88G 先进反辐射导弹-增程型 (AARGM-ER)，成为该地区第一个拥有先进能力摧毁与防空系统相关的敌方雷达发射器的盟友。

波兰与诺斯罗普·格鲁曼公司签订了购买导弹的合同，与此同时，波兰正在等待明年接收其订购的 32 架 F-35 战斗机的首批货。

波兰副总理兼国防部长瓦迪斯瓦夫·科西尼亚克-卡梅什表示，这些导弹将显著增强该型飞机的作战能力。他的部门在一份声明中如此说道。

科西尼亚克-卡米什表示，根据最新协议，华沙正在购买“能够瞄准、发现并影响敌方防空系统、防空和反导防御系统的反辐射导弹”。

“这是一笔突破性的采购。只有在这种情况下，当我们拥有装备齐全的F-35战机，并且有可能改装成F-16战机时，我们才能有效地利用波兰武装部队将要使用的这些最先进战机的全部性能，”副总理补充道。

该合同净值约为7.45亿美元。导弹交付计划于2029年至2035年进行。

在俄罗斯于2022年入侵邻国乌克兰之后，波兰加大了为其武装部队采购新型武器和军事装备的力度。尽管北约东翼盟国纷纷增加军费开支，但波兰走在了前列，宣布计划在2025年向其武装部队投入约1600亿兹罗提（约合397亿美元），相当于该国国内生产总值（GDP）的4.2%。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。