Poland has conducted the first live-fire exercise of its United States-made Patriot air and missile defense system.
Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Poland’s deputy prime minister and minister of national defense, said the Polish military successfully fired Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors in September 2025 at the Central Air Force Training Ground near Ustka. The drill employed the U.S.-developed Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) to coordinate launches and included supplementary firings from domestic Homar-A and Homar-K rocket launchers.
The firing was part of Iron Defender, the largest of the planned training exercises by the Polish Armed Forces in 2025, according to a government news release. “Since the beginning of these exercises, over 60,000 Soldiers have taken part in them, and the overwhelming majority of them are Polish Soldiers. This shows the scale of these maneuvers and the degree of political mobilization of NATO,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who observed the drills, according to the news release.
Poland acquired the Patriot system under the Wisla program, which was designed to establish a multilayered air defense network. The first phase in March 2018 involved a $4.5 billion contract for two Patriot PAC-3 batteries equipped with M903A2 launchers, AN/MPQ-65 radars, PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors, support vehicles and sustainment packages, according to the defense news website Army Recognition. Deliveries began in September 2022, and by March 2023, Poland had received 16 launchers. The system reached its initial operating capability in December 2024, making Poland the 15th nation to field Patriots, according to Army Recognition.
The live-fire drill validated integration of the IBCS with Poland’s radar and launcher infrastructure. It also tested interoperability between Patriot batteries and Homar rocket units, reinforcing Warsaw’s strategy of combining U.S.-sourced and indigenous systems.
The exercise came amid calls by NATO members to expand air and missile defenses to protect Eastern and Central Europe. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said that Allies must boost defenses to deter emerging threats along the Alliance’s eastern flank.
Poland has deepened its defense cooperation with the U.S. through major support and training agreements. In September 2025, Warsaw signed a $2 billion deal for technical and logistical support of Patriot launchers and command networks, according to news website The Defense Post. The U.S. Army recently awarded Lockheed Martin a $9.8 billion contract for the production of nearly 2,000 Patriot interceptors through 2026, underlining Washington’s role as a reliable partner in arms provision, according to the Stars and Stripes newspaper.
Polish military leaders said the successful Patriot launch is a significant step toward bolstering national defenses and fulfilling its NATO commitments. “For the first time in Polish history, Patriot systems will be used on Polish territory,” said Kosiniak-Kamysz, according to the Defense Mirror website. “We are constructing a multilayered air defense system.”