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The U.S. has agreed to provide Poland another $4 billion in direct loans to help the NATO ally purchase new defense items to continue its military modernization, the State Department said last Friday.
“This substantial support reflects Poland’s serious commitment to its own defense and to sharing the burden of NATO’s collective security,” the State Department said in a statement. “Poland remains one of America’s strongest and most dependable allies in Europe—a front-line nation on NATO’s Eastern Flank and a leader in defense investment.”
The newly announced $4 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) follows a similar $4 billion direct loan to Poland announced last December during the final months of the Biden administration (Defense Daily, Dec. 5 2024).
FMF funds are loans provided to help partners and allies purchase U.S.-made defense equipment and training, with the U.S. having now provided $15 billion in such loans to Poland over the last few years.
“These deals promote peace through strength and ensure our allies are capable of defending themselves with reliable, proven systems built by the best defense industrial base in the world,” the State Department said.
The State Department noted Poland has taken “decisive steps” to modernize its military in recent years, noting its acquisition of U.S defense systems such as Boeing [BA] Apache attack helicopters, Lockheed Martin [LMT] HIMARS launchers and RTX [RTX] Patriot air defense systems.
The FMF announcement also cited a $1.2 billion deal the U.S. approved last year for the sale of tethered aerostat systems equipped with radar and other sensors for airspace and surface reconnaissance to Poland (Defense Daily, Feb. 7 2024).
In October 2024, the State Department also approved a potential $7.3 billion foreign military sale with Poland covering modifications and upgrades for its fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft (Defense Daily, Oct. 23, 2024).
Poland has also been acquiring the new RTX-built Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor radar system and Northrop Grumman [NOC]-developed Integrated Battle Command System, as part of its air defense modernization initiatives.
