By Bosphorus News Defense Desk
Poland has renewed its offer to host Patriot interceptor production intended for Ukraine, arguing that a plant on Polish territory would keep manufacturing outside the war zone while keeping Kyiv inside a three-country production arrangement with the United States and Poland.
Polish Deputy Defense Minister Magdalena Sobkowiak-Czarnecka said Warsaw had proposed moving any planned Ukrainian Patriot production facility to Poland. She said Poland would also continue its separate effort to secure Patriot servicing and production capacity for its own defense industry.
Kyiv has been seeking US authorization to manufacture Patriot interceptors for months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on September 25 that President Donald Trump had made a final decision on licenses for Ukraine.
No US licensing document has been released publicly. After Zelenskyy's September 22 meeting with Trump in New York, the Ukrainian presidency said US and Ukrainian teams were still working on launching Patriot interceptor production in Ukraine.
From servicing to production talks
On February 3, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) had supplied about 75% of the missiles used by Ukraine's Patriot batteries and about 90% of missiles used by its other air defense systems.
On July 7, during the NATO summit in Ankara, Poland signed an agreement with the United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden covering European servicing of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles. Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said sending missiles to the United States for servicing, certification and return could take as long as two years.
The White House said the next day that Lockheed Martin would work to establish a PAC-3 Missile Maintenance Facility in Europe.
Ukraine was pressing for production rights during the same period. In July, the Ukrainian presidency said talks with Washington covered licenses for Patriot missile production. After Zelenskyy met a Raytheon delegation, his office said the company was prepared to deepen cooperation through co-production of Patriot interceptors.
Poland brought its own proposal to Washington on July 24. Its Defense Ministry said Sobkowiak-Czarnecka had proposed cooperation among the United States, Ukraine and Poland, with Poland joining a three-country co-production model intended to place production in a safer location.
The ministry described an offer under discussion, not a concluded production agreement.
By August 27, Polish officials were discussing joint PAC-3 production and maintenance with senior US officials. The Defense Ministry said selected European countries could host the work and named Poland as a possible site.
Poland also wants PAC-3 production at home
Warsaw's interest in PAC-3 production is not limited to Ukraine.
Poland has maintained a long-term Patriot procurement program with the United States since signing the $4.6 billion first phase of its acquisition in March 2018. In September 2026, the United States added a $4 billion Foreign Military Financing loan guarantee for Poland, citing acquisitions including Patriot systems, Apache helicopters, HIMARS and F-35 fighters.
Washington announced the first transfer of a Patriot air defense system to Ukraine on December 21, 2022, as part of a $1.85 billion military assistance package. In 2026, the discussion shifted to European PAC-3 servicing and possible production. Poland is seeking a domestic role in that industrial capacity while offering its territory for a separate US-Ukraine production arrangement.
As of September 28, there is still no publicly released US-Ukraine-Poland production agreement or US license authorizing Ukrainian Patriot interceptor manufacture.
Sources: Poland's Ministry of National Defence, Presidency of Ukraine, White House, NATO, US Department of State, RMF24, Bosphorus News review and reporting.