Military Aviation Works 1 (WZL1), a unit of state-owned defense conglomerate Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) based in Dęblin in the eastern Lubelskie province, said production had already started and that the first order was in an advanced stage of completion while the company awaited export approval.

The factory has certification from the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin entitling it to produce the components commercially as part of an offset arrangement for Poland’s procurement of the Patriot system. Poland announced last year the completion of the second phase of a procurement process involving the purchase from the U.S. of up to 48 Patriot PAC-3 launchers and up to 644 PAC-3 MSE missiles in a deal valued at up to $15 billion. The contract includes offset arrangements under which service, repair and production facilities will be established in Poland to support the country’s ‘Wisła’ medium-range air defense program.

The director of WZL1’s Dęblin plant said demand for the launch tubes was brisk.

“Demand is so great that we can safely think about increasing production,” Bartłomiej Kacperczyk said, adding that while current production capacity was still being established, an output of 150 launch tubes per year was “realistic.”

The firm has invested in construction of a 2,500-square-meter production hall as part of its offset absorption costs and taken on over a dozen additional staff with a view to employing at least 40 to 50 more to add to the facility’s current headcount of 250.