Polish American Talks on Armament for the FA-50. Is Local Production on the Table?
Photo. Polish MoD
Deputy Minister of National Defence Paweł Bejda met with the president of RTX (formerly Raytheon) to discuss strategic avenues of cooperation. The primary goal of the talks was to increase the involvement of Polish industry in the production of key weapons components and to advance modern defence technologies.
According to the ministry’s official website, they discussed: producing wiring harnesses for the Patriot system in Poland, increasing the share of Polish industry in manufacturing Patriot launchers intended for other countries, and expanding cooperation on the development of air‑defence radars and on R&D in the field of radar tech.
An important point on the agenda was accelerating the delivery of missiles for the FA‑50 aircraft in service with the Polish Air Force, with a view toward situating their production in Poland. The talks also addressed integrating FA‑50s with U.S. weapon systems. Finally, the parties explored cooperation on counter‑drone solutions.
This meeting is one in a series aimed at encouraging major defence‑industry players to invest in Poland, thereby fostering the growth of the domestic defence sector and strengthening national security.
FA‑50 aircraft in the FA‑50PL configuration are to be armed with AIM‑9X Sidewinder missiles produced by RTX—short‑range, air‑to‑air missiles already in use on the F‑16 and F‑35. The FA‑50PL program also includes a feasibility study on integrating medium‑range AMRAAM missiles.