These are the missile defense systems the US sent to Poland

The two missile defense systems that the US delivered to Poland this week are part of a weapons system upon which the US military has heavily relied for nearly 40 years.

The deployment, announced Thursday by Vice President Kamala Harris, is intended to deter Russia and boost Poland’s security amid western concerns that the Ukraine conflict could spill into NATO-aligned nations.

The Patriot air defense missile system — Patriot stands for “Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept of Target” — is designed to counter and destroy incoming short-range ballistic missiles, advanced aircraft and cruise missiles.

The battery includes missiles and launching stations, a radar set that detects and tracks targets, and an engagement control station, according to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.

The US, seeking to avoid direct involvement in Ukraine — which is not a member of NATO and therefore not subject to the pact’s collective defense agreement, in which an attack on one aligned nation is considered an attack on all — has repeatedly stressed that the deployment is only for defensive purposes.

The Army test fires a Patriot missile in a recent test. The Patriot missile system is a ground-based, mobile missile defense interceptor deployed by the United States to detect, track and engage unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, and short-range and tactical ballistic missiles. Patriot, along with other missile defense systems, are included in the Army Air and Missile Defense 2028, which provides the Army???s overarching vision for the AMD force, describes how the AMD force is postured to support the Army and joint forces, and articulates what must be accomplished to achieve the 2028 desired end state of preventing and defeating adversary air and missile attacks through a combination of deterrence, active and passive defense, and support to attack operations. (U.S. Army photo)

“This defensive deployment is being conducted proactively to counter any potential threat to U.S. and Allied forces and NATO territory,” Capt. Adam Miller, spokesman for US European Command, said in a statement Tuesday. “This is a prudent force protection measure that underpins our commitment to Article Five and will in no way support any offensive operations.”

The Pentagon’s deployment of the Patriot missiles to Poland “wasn’t precipitated by one single moment or one single issue or one single act by the Russians,” US Defense Department press secretary John Kirby said on Wednesday.

For the complete story, please visit: https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/10/politics/us-patriot-missile-defense-system-explainer/index.html

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