WARSAW, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Polish defense minister Mariusz Blaszczak on Wednesday signed a contract in Warsaw to buy U.S. Patriot air and missile defense systems.
The contract was formally signed in a ceremony, which attended by Polish president Andrzej Duda and prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Polish News Agency (PAP) reported that Poland will pay 4.75 billion U.S. dollars for the systems.
Duda said that the cost of the U.S. Patriot air and missile defense systems is huge but "the security has no price". He added that the Patriot systems are to constitute the basis of Poland's air defense for decades.
Morawiecki announced on Tuesday that "the first Patriot systems will reach Poland in 2022, followed by further systems two years later, in 2024".
In November last year, the U.S. State Department approved the sale of the Patriot System to Poland and said that the deal will give Poland "greater flexibility to conduct air and missile defense operations" with the United States and other NATO members.