Minister Tomasz Siemoniak (C) Photo: MON
Siemoniak told Vice Admiral Joseph Rixey, Director of the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), that the programme “has the support of all political parties and it is backed by financial guarantees.
“We are in a position to execute large programmes for the modernization of our armed forces,” he said.
“We want to have a strong collaboration in this matter, which we will be able to develop.”
Siemoniak stressed “the success” of the recent American-Polish training programme in Poland involving joint exercises of US F-16 planes.
He confirmed that Warsaw wants to continue this programme, and that it would be interested in purchasing JASSM missiles.
Vice Admiral Rixey was accompanied by Gregory Kausner, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Security and Arms Transfers, who told Polish Radio that “when we sell military equipment or training programmes, it is more than a simple financial transaction for us.
“This is proof of our partnership,” he claimed.
“We value our cooperation so far and we want to act as one entity, through the development of cooperation between our defense industries, training, the development of the F-16 programme and mission operations themselves.”
Missile shield
In 2009, President Barack Obama pulled out of a Bush-era plan to install 10 long-range missile interceptors on Polish territory.
However, since then plans to create a mobile alternative have been repeatedly raised. During a visit to Warsaw in November 2013, US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the US still wanted to carry this out, specifying that it should be done by 2018.
Siemoniak said on Thursday that “missile defence” is a priority for Poland, adding that the two countries “brotherhood in arms” in Afghanistan demonstrated that cooperation between the US and Poland is working.
Poland joined the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in 2002.
In line with NATO aims, Polish troops are to pull out by the end of 2014, and about half of Poland's current contingent is to leave Afghanistan by May this year. (nh)
Source: PAP/IAR