Patriots For Poland

Inside the Army reports this week that the Commerce Department has decided to advocate for both U.S. air and missile defense systems being considered by Poland, but Massachusetts lawmakers have asked the department to reconsider the decision and instead back only Raytheon's Patriot system:

"Raytheon Company of Waltham, MA, submitted an application to the Department of Commerce Advocacy Center in November 2012 for sole advocacy to offer Patriot for Poland's lower tier AMD needs," states a Feb. 12 letter signed by the entire Massachusetts delegation sent to Bryan Erwin, the center's director. "However, Raytheon was granted generic advocacy in February 2013."

The lawmakers state they believe the center "reached this decision because more than one U.S. company was under consideration by the Polish government, and Polish Defense officials had not provided sufficient details at the time on the procurement at issue." Lockheed Martin offering its Medium Extended Air Defense System is the other company in question.

On Jan. 15, the Polish Defense Ministry "made clear its desire to acquire a Medium Range AMD capability when it announced its selection of Raytheon for its short list of five bidders to upgrade Poland's AMD system. Given that recent development, we are writing to request that you reassess your advocacy decision regarding Patriot."

If Patriot is chosen, the letter continues, Poland would become one of 13 countries using the system. "Given its status as a program of record, we believe it is important that Patriot receives strong and unqualified support from the U.S. government in the form of sole advocacy," the lawmakers contend.

We can now share that letter. Click here to read it.