English Section

Polish PM praises military ties with US, F-16 maintenance deal

14.11.2022 18:00
Poland's prime minister on Monday praised his country's military ties with the United States, including a maintenance deal that a Polish aviation plant has signed with the US Air Force.
Polands Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks to reporters during a visit to a military aviation plant in the north-central Polish city of Bydgoszcz on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022.
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks to reporters during a visit to a military aviation plant in the north-central Polish city of Bydgoszcz on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022.Photo: PAP/Tytus Żmijewski

Speaking during a visit to the aerospace plant in the north-central Polish city of Bydgoszcz, Mateusz Morawiecki said: "Together with the US Air Force, we have built a platform for servicing and repairing the F-16, which is also the basis of our Air Force."

He added: "Our aviation facilities will be one of the few in the world that will service the F16."

Addressing reporters alongside the US ambassador to Poland, Morawiecki announced that the Bydgoszcz plant "signed a long-term contract with an American company for technical support for F-16 aircraft belonging to the American Air Force."

Morawiecki told reporters: "Strengthening our armaments plants is an effort aiming to help bolster our defences."

He said he was pleased "to see just how strong our cooperation is with the US Army and the US Air Force."

He added that F-16 jets used by various countries would be serviced in Poland's Bydgoszcz.

"This is a great success for the Polish defence industry," Morawiecki declared.

'No strong state without a strong army'

He also told the news conference that "there is no strong state without a strong army."

He said: "The disproportion of forces, visible today in Ukraine, can be compensated by modern combat equipment that we buy from the United States, South Korea, Britain and other allies."

"Together we build defenses to avoid war and Russian domination," Morawiecki stated, as quoted by his office.

The US envoy, Mark Brzezinski, said he was pleased "Polish and American technicians are working together for our common security."

The Polish military aviation plant will work with partners in the United States and the Netherlands to carry out the USD 365 million contract for the modernisation and maintenance of American F-16s, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP