The U.S. Department of War (DoW) said Oct. 27 that Poland had been selected to host the facility. Lockheed Martin said it is intended to support resupply and integrated testing.
The DoW announced the choice on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO's Conference of National Armaments Directors, in coordination with Lockheed Martin and European allies. The announcements did not name a site in Poland or set a firm opening date.
In July, Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said sending missiles to the United States and returning them for certification could take up to two years. Lockheed Martin said the facility is intended to support resupply and integrated testing, but no new service-time estimate has been provided.
Lockheed Martin said the Polish site would handle upkeep across the missiles' service lives, restoration work and the checks required for recertification. The company expects the regional capacity to support resupply and integrated testing.
Reuters reported that Deputy Defense Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka estimated the investment at around PLN 1 billion and said the center could take about 12 months to become operational. The figures came from her remarks after an Oct. 27 briefing in Brussels; they are estimates, not a confirmed final budget or opening schedule.
The project follows a July agreement among the United States, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden to explore a European PAC-3 maintenance facility. Poland's government said it competed with Germany, the Netherlands and Norway to host the site. Lockheed Martin says Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden are expected to have supply-chain roles.
Lockheed Martin expects the project to bring skilled work to Poland and give local firms opportunities to support the facility, but it has not provided job or supplier figures.
