Poland holds tight to its Patriot batteries amid reported US call for Middle East transfer

WARSAW, Poland — Poland has denied plans to deploy its Patriot air-defense systems to the Middle East where Gulf countries could use them to shield themselves against Iranian attacks.

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, Poland’s priority is to protect Polish skies, according to Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the country’s deputy prime minister and national defense minister.

“Our Patriot batteries and their armament serve to secure the Polish skies and NATO’s eastern flank. Nothing is changing in this field, and we do not plan to move them anywhere,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a social media post on March 31. “Our allies know well and understand how important are our tasks here.”

In March 2018, Poland signed a deal to purchase two Configuration 3+ batteries for around $4.75 billion. The nation launched the second phase of its mid-range air-defense program in May 2022 by requesting the United States to supply a further six Patriot batteries with related gear. In December 2025, Poland declared the first two batteries reached full operational readiness.

Kosiniak-Kamysz’s statement followed reports of informal requests originating from the U.S. government for the deployment of one of Poland’s batteries to the Middle East. Washington has unofficially asked whether Warsaw could also supply some of the PAC-3 MSE interceptors from the Polish military’s stock to Middle Eastern nations whose supply is being depleted by Iran’s attacks, local daily Rzeczpospolita reported.

At a March 31 press conference, Adam Szłapka, a spokesperson for the Polish government, said the Patriot systems “are to serve Poland’s security” and did not answer a question whether the U.S. had in fact requested such a transfer.

Some of the operators of Patriot systems in the Gulf region include Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰否认了向中东部署其“爱国者”防空系统的计划，海湾国家可能利用这些系统来抵御伊朗的袭击。

据波兰副总理兼国防部长瓦迪斯瓦夫·科西尼亚克-卡梅什称，随着俄罗斯入侵乌克兰的持续，波兰的首要任务是保护波兰领空。

科西尼亚克-卡梅什3月31日在社交媒体上发文称：“我们的爱国者导弹系统及其武器装备用于保卫波兰领空和北约东翼。这一领域没有任何变化，我们也没有计划将它们转移到任何地方。我们的盟友非常清楚并理解我们在这里的任务有多么重要。”

2018年3月，波兰签署协议，以约47.5亿美元的价格购买两套“爱国者”导弹防御系统（配置3+）。2022年5月，波兰启动其中程防空计划的第二阶段，请求美国提供另外六套“爱国者”导弹防御系统及相关设备。2025年12月，波兰宣布首批两套系统已达到全面作战准备状态。

科西尼亚克-卡米什发表声明之前，有报道称美国政府曾非正式地提出请求，希望波兰向中东部署一套P​​AC-3 MSE拦截导弹系统。据波兰当地日报《共和国报》（Rzeczpospolita）报道，华盛顿方面已非正式地询问华沙，波兰军方能否向中东国家提供一些PAC-3 MSE拦截导弹，因为伊朗的袭击正在消耗这些国家的导弹储备。

3月31日，波兰政府发言人亚当·什瓦普卡在新闻发布会上表示，爱国者导弹系统“是为了服务波兰的安全”，但他没有回答美国是否真的要求过这样的转让。

海湾地区爱国者导弹系统的部分运营商包括巴林、科威特、卡塔尔、沙特阿拉伯和阿拉伯联合酋长国。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。