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In 2014, the United States blocked a major sale of Rafael’s air defense system to Poland. Now, the systems Poland ended up procuring are already undergoing a major round of upgrades
| 4/07/2023 
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen meeting with Polish counterpart Zbigniew Rau. Photo credit: Israeli Embassy in Poland
While the Israeli public is celebrating the expected Arrow-3 deal with Germany, worth around $4 billion (with a portion of it going to American industry for production in the United States), the Americans are laughing all the way to the bank.
In 2014, the United States blocked a massive sale of Rafael’s air defense system, “David’s Sling” (then known as “Magic Wand”) to Poland. Now, they are already undergoing a second round of upgrades totaling $15 billion – more than three times the value of Israel’s Arrow-3 deal. And that’s just in Poland.
The Patriot air defense system is in use in several European countries, and the war in Ukraine has put all system owners on edge. From here, rounds of upgrades and procurement are just a matter of time. Billions of dollars are expected to flow into the coffers of American defense industries in the coming years from Patriot sales in the European market.
Let’s go back to 2014. These were the years before the Russian invasion of Europe, but even then, Putin was the main threat. The United States did not want an Israeli system to interfere with the sale of Patriot systems in Europe, and the White House exerted immense pressure on Israel to withdraw from the deal.
In exchange for the withdrawal, Rafael was obligated to include Iron Dome and Spike NLOS missiles in the Patriot’s missile basket. This way, a Patriot customer can purchase these missiles, but only if they have a Patriot system and only after committing to purchasing American-made missiles (in the Israeli missile, there is a profit sharing arrangement with the Israeli industry).
As mentioned, in recent days, the US State Department approved a possible $15 billion sale of Patriot system components to Poland. According to the publication, the package will include 48 Patriot launchers, 644 PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles, radars, networking equipment, sensors, support equipment, spare parts, and technical support.
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin will be the main contractors for the project.
Photo: Elbit Systems of America website
| 28/06/2023 
Parade in Tehran on Iranian Army Day, April 2022. Photo: Iranian Army / WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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