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An American soldier in front of a surface-to-air missile at the Morag base in Poland, May 26, 2010 (photo illustration). Reuters / Peter Andrews

Warsaw will spend 43 billion euros to modernize its army. New equipment purchased by 2026 will be deployed "mainly" in eastern Poland, facing Russia. These orders come as concern rises in this part of Europe after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and accusations of Moscow's violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Weapons Treaty (INF).

In terms of military spending, Poland is considered one of the good students of NATO. Warsaw already spends the equivalent of 2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) each year on defense, but the Polish authorities want to go further by buying more new equipment.

Indeed, Poland still aligns a lot of weapons from the Warsaw Pact, the old alliance with Moscow. The Polish authorities are signaling their willingness to replace their old Soviet-designed MiG-29 and Sukhoi 22 aircraft by buying very modern aircraft. Also acquire submarines, naval helicopters and air defense systems.

In 2018, Warsaw announced the purchase of the American Patriot missile system for € 3.8 billion. The Polish Ministry of Defense is finally ready to welcome the benefits of American soldiers. They are already 5,000 deployed by rotation within NATO, but the Polish authorities plead for the establishment of a permanent American base on their soil.

According to Polish media reports, US Deputy Secretary of Defense John Rood, expected in March in Warsaw, could also announce the launch of a US command center project in Poland.