PAC-3 maintenance centre in Poland: the US Department of War and Lockheed Martin choose the country for Patriot missiles in Europe

Poland will host the European PAC-3 maintenance centre, the facility where the air-defence missiles of the Patriot systems operated by NATO allies will be repaired, rebuilt and recertified. The US Department of War announced the selection on Tuesday, October 27, during the NATO Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) in Brussels, in coordination with Lockheed Martin and the European allies.

For Warsaw the gain is first of all time. For now every missile that needs certification must be sent to the United States. “Shipping, work, return, all of this takes over ten months. A support centre inside Poland will significantly shorten this process,” explained Deputy Defence Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka. The Polish defence ministry said four countries competed to host the investment and that the Polish bid scored highest already at the submission stage. She spoke of a success that “was not a given” and came after months of negotiations.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz called the decision proof that Poland is a “reliable ally and an extremely important point on the map of global security”. He thanked the country’s President and his colleagues, saying that “united we can successfully carry out even the most difficult projects for the security of our homeland”. In July he had written on X that Poland signed an agreement with the US, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden for a PAC-3 missile support centre in Europe, without the location having been decided at the time.

Lockheed Martin describes a facility that will carry out on-site repairs, rebuilding, full life-cycle support and recertification, so that missiles return quickly for resupply and complete testing. Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, which signed the initial agreement with the US and Poland, will have a role in the supply chain. The company says the centre will join the Polish defence industrial ecosystem, with highly skilled jobs and opportunities for local suppliers.

From the American side, the Department of War argues that the regional hub will “dramatically” reduce missile turnaround times, shield critical supply lines and allow rapid scaling in a crisis on NATO’s eastern flank. “By investing national resources to create this critical support capability on NATO’s eastern front, allies are sending a clear message: the Alliance is united, takes deterrence seriously and is ready to back its words with actions,” said Michael Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment. The department also wrote that the aim is for launchers to stay “loaded” and for allies to be ready “to fight tonight”.

Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control business, said the centre is “the next evolution” of the company’s cooperation with Europe and will ensure that these systems “are available where and when they are needed most”. The company recalls that this year the US government awarded it $58.62 billion to accelerate PAC-3 MSE production, and that it recently also presented the new PAC-3 Edge.

The US ambassador in Warsaw, Tom Rose, attributed the choice to a decision by President Trump, which he called a “major milestone” for the two countries’ defence cooperation. He noted that “it was not an easy decision”, as Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands had submitted “excellent proposals”, and praised Sobkowiak-Czarnecka in particular for her personal involvement. Warsaw is also strengthening its air defence with other partners, as the recent UK–Poland plan for cooperation on air-defence missiles and munitions shows.