Germany to maintain deployment of Patriot air defense missile system to Poland until end of 2023.

Answering a request from Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak last July that the three German Patriot missile systems stationed on Polish territory since January 2023 remain in place “at least until the end of this year”, the German Defence Minister Pistorius said on August 8 that "An extension beyond the end of 2023 is not foreseen", adding that some of Germany's Patriot units were needed for use by NATO's quick reaction response force in 2024, while others had to undergo maintenance.
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German Air Force Patriot air defense system (Picture source: Army Recognition)

In 2022, after a Ukrainian air defense missile accidentally fell in Poland and killed two people during a wave of Russian attacks, Germany offered to transfer some of its Patriot air defense systems to Poland. Together with three Patriot air defense units, some 300 German soldiers have been based in the Polish town of Zamosc, about 50 km (31 miles) from the Ukrainian border, since the start of 2023 to protect the southern town and its crucial railway link to Ukraine.

Poland now faces a greater threat as Russian nuclear weapons and fighters from the Wagner Group were recently transferred to Belarus with heavy equipment (helicopters, tanks, etc.).

Flugabwehrraketengeschwader 1 (Air Defence Missile Wing 1) or (FlaRakG 1) "Schleswig-Holstein" is a unit of the German Air Force based in Stadum and Husum, Northern Germany. The wing is equipped with the Patriot air defense missile system. Air Defence Missile Wing 1 consists of:
* Air Defence Missile Group 21 (Flugabwehrraketengruppe 21) based at Sanitz
* Air Defence Missile Group 24 (Flugabwehrraketengruppe 24) based at Bad Sülze
* Air Defence Missile Group 26 (Flugabwehrraketengruppe 26) based at Husum

Patriot air defense system

The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary such system used by the U.S. Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar component of the weapon system. The AN/MPQ-53 at the heart of the system is known as the "Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target", which is a backronym for "Patriot". Starting in 1984, the Patriot system began to replace the Nike Hercules system as the U.S. Army's primary High to Medium Air Defense (HIMAD) system and the MIM-23 Hawk system as the U.S. Army's medium tactical air defense system. In addition to these roles, Patriot has been given a function in the U.S. Army's anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system. The system is expected to stay fielded until at least 2040.

Defense News August 2023