PGZ plans to produce Patriot missiles in Poland – Macierewicz

The Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) intends to cooperate with an American arms manufacturer to produce the American Patriot missile in Poland, and has signed a letter of intent with US defense contractor Raytheon, Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said on Thursday.  The Minister indicated that PGZ-owned Autosan Sanok would participate in international production with Raytheon, a venture that would “provide stability and security for the most important goal [of] defense of the Republic.” However, Macierewicz also indicated that the preparations for the venture thus far were only preliminary and that production of the missile in Poland was not definitive at this point. “We hope that the inclusion of the Autosan system [will be] a great service center for the production of [the] Patriot worldwide, [and] will open the way for the finalization of this great project, which is to ensure the production and delivery to Poland’s military the Patriot system in the coming years.” He added that talks would be ongoing. “I do not want to create such a sense that everything is already taken care of, that everything is closed,” the minister told the press.