Poland’s Wisla air defense system has achieved initial operational capability (IOC).
It has been achieved with the 37th Air Defense Missile Squadron, part of the 3rd Warsaw Air Defense Missile Brigade.
A second Wisla battery is expected to achieve the capability by the end of this year.
“It {Ukraine war} has shown how important air, anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence is, what systems are needed to respond to thousands of attacks and effectively defend ourselves,” Polish Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on the occasion in Sochaczew.
“We draw from this knowledge, we draw from this experience, we build our own air defence systems.
“They consist of several layers, starting from the very short-range layer, such as Pilica Plus, through Narew, and reaching what is today the heart, and in fact the most important element of air defence – medium-range defence in the Wisła programme.”
Integration with IBCS
The IOC landmark followed the integration of the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) with the system, including M903A2 launchers, and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement missiles.
The IBCS’ open and scalable architecture allows the integration of multi-domain sensors and effectors, providing a single actionable picture of the full battlespace.
“This ready now capability gives warfighters more time to make decisions on how best to defeat threats and is a foundational element for enabling joint and coalition, multi-domain operations,” IBCS manufacturer Northrop Grumman stated.
It will enable the integration of the air and missile defenses of US and Polish militaries during combined operations, it added.
Wilsa Program
The Patriot-based medium range system has been designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and manned and unmanned aircraft.
For the second phase, Raytheon’s in-development Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors (LTAMDS) will be integrated with the system.
The LTAMDS is being developed for the US Army as a replacement for the Patriot radar.
Powered by Gallium Nitride technology, the active electronically scanned array radar offers 360-degree tracking ability lacking in present Patriot radars.
Poland signed a procurement agreement for 12 LTAMDS and 48 Patriot launchers from the US for phase 2 last year.
