Euractiv.com with Reuters Est. 2min 21-11-2022 The US MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system presented at the Field Training Center of the Artillery and Armament Training Center in Torun, Poland, 14 October 2022. [EPA-EFE/Tytus Zmijewski] Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Print Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Germany has offered Warsaw the Patriot missile defence system to help it to secure its airspace after a stray missile crashed in Poland last week, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht told a newspaper on Sunday (20 November). The German government had already said it would offer its neighbour further help in air policing with German Eurofighters after the incident, which initially raised fears that the war in Ukraine could spill across the border. Germany offers Poland aerial surveillance following missile explosion Germany has offered to assist Poland in surveilling its airspace from Thursday after a Polish village near the Ukrainian border was hit by a missile on Tuesday. The missile hit resulted in two casualties and marked the first explosion on NATO … “We have offered Poland support in securing airspace – with our Eurofighters and with Patriot air defence systems,” Lambrecht told the Rheinische Post and General Anzeiger. The missile that hit Poland last week, killing two people, appeared to have been fired by Ukraine’s air defences rather than a Russian strike, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said. NATO vigilant following missile explosion in Poland, will do what is necessary, says Stoltenberg NATO ambassadors agreed to stay vigilant, calm, closely coordinated, and to monitor the situation, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday, emphasising the readiness of NATO to do what is necessary to protect the allies. NATO ambassadors met to address … Ground-based air defence systems such as Raytheon’s Patriot are built to intercept incoming missiles. NATO has moved to strengthen air defences in eastern Europe since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. More than a dozen NATO allies led by Germany in October kicked off an initiative to jointly procure air defence systems for several layers of threats, including Patriot. Germany had 36 Patriot units when it was NATO’s frontline state during the Cold War. German forces currently have 12 Patriot units, two of which are deployed to Slovakia. Read more with Euractiv Macron accuses Russia of 'predatory' influence in AfricaPresident Emmanuel Macron accused Russia of feeding anti-French propaganda in Africa to serve "predatory" ambitions in troubled African nations, where France has suffered military setbacks and a wider loss of influence over recent years.
