Poland secured 3.4 billion euros in military financing from the United States through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, in an agreement aimed at strengthening the Polish Armed Forces and NATO's eastern flank. This is the sixth agreement between Warsaw and Washington under this mechanism, raising the total financing secured through the program to over 17 billion euros. The FMF allows the United States to provide credit guarantees to support the acquisition of American military equipment by partner countries.
Poland's Minister of Defense, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, stated that the financing will accelerate the execution of existing acquisition contracts, including those related to Apache attack helicopters. In August, the country signed agreements with Boeing to create the largest European maintenance center for these helicopters, supporting not only the Polish fleet but also helicopters acquired by other European countries.
Magdalena Sobkowiak, Secretary of State at the Polish Ministry of Defense, stated that Poland wants to be a hub for American defense companies in Europe, emphasizing that a well-structured defense of NATO's eastern flank cannot be achieved without equipment and American support. The official also stressed that US support and greater European responsibility in defense are complementary goals, noting that the EU's SAFE program can work in parallel with American financing.
Poland has also secured an amount of 43.7 billion euros through SAFE, the largest allocation to a single country under the 150 billion euro European program. The country is currently NATO's second largest defense spender and is expected to channel 4.68% of GDP to military expenditure this year, according to data from the Alliance cited by Euractiv.
