On Sunday, January 19, 2025, the press service of the German Armed Forces in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania announced on social media that two medium-range air and missile defense system batteries, MIM-104 Patriot PAC-3, were deployed on Polish territory last week to protect NATO’s eastern flank.
Photos: Die Bundeswehr in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern via Facebook
“Our Patriots from Sanitz were deployed to Poland last week. They are reinforced by air defense units from Bad Sülze and Husum. The goal is to ensure integrated NATO air defense on the eastern flank of the Alliance’s territory for the next six months,” – stated the announcement on Facebook.
“Our mission is to protect one of the largest logistics centers in the region, and over the next few days, we will seamlessly take over this mission from the forces already on the ground and ensure its execution. We will also provide 24/7 security, meaning around the clock,” added Lieutenant Colonel Christoph Schmaler, commander of the Air and Missile Defense Task Force, part of NATO’s enhanced efforts to monitor airspace on the eastern flank.
According to the above information, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) deployed a battery of the 24th Air Defense Group from the Bad Sülze garrison and a battery of the 26th Air Defense Group from the Husum garrison—both subordinate to the 1st Air Defense Wing Schleswig-Holstein and stationed in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In total, approximately 200 soldiers and military equipment were involved.
The plan to redeploy German Patriot systems to Poland was announced on November 28, 2024, during a meeting between the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, General Wiesław Kukuła, and the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, General Carsten Breuer, in Berlin.
During the first deployment, from the end of January 2023 to November 10 of the same year, German soldiers were stationed at the garrison in Zamość. It is no secret that Germany will now replace the Americans, who, from the very beginning of the full-scale Russo-Ukrainian war, protected the Rzeszów-Jasionka International Airport. This airport serves as a logistical and medical hub for an estimated 90% of international material aid to war-torn Ukraine.
Complementing the German forces are Norwegian NASAMS (National/Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System) air defense systems, which have been deployed since December 14, 2024, along with approximately 100 soldiers. Norway has also sent four Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II multirole aircraft to Poland. Earlier, British forces withdrew from Poland along with their Sky Sabre system.