Poland says still to get U.S. Patriot missiles

WARSAW (Reuters) - The United States will go ahead with deployment of a Patriot battery on Polish soil and the missiles will be armed, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Thursday, shortly after Washington said it was overhauling plans for a missile defense shield in central Europe.

The previous Bush administration had agreed last year to update Polish air defenses with, among other things, a Patriot battery as part of a wider deal that included stationing elements of the missile defense shield in Poland.

"The new element is that the American side has assured us that the Patriots will be armed and capable of being linked to our defense system," Sikorski told reporters.

Recent Polish media reports had suggested that the Patriot missiles would be unarmed.

For Poland, the Patriot battery is an important symbol of the U.S. commitment to its defense at a time when Russia, its communist-era overlord, is becoming more assertive in foreign and security policy.

Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw Komorowski told Reuters in an interview earlier this year that the Patriot project would go ahead regardless of whether U.S. President Barack Obama opted to press ahead with the more controversial missile defense plans.

Earlier on Thursday, Obama overhauled plans for a large missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic aimed at countering possible attacks by Iran, promising instead swifter defense systems that would begin with sea-based interceptors.

Moscow has strongly opposed the missile shield plan, saying it poses a direct threat to its national security.

Under the Patriot deal clinched last year, the battery -- armed with about 100 missiles -- would be based in Poland for a short period each year in 2009, 2010 and 2011 to enable training and preparation of Polish troops and defense systems.

A battery would be permanently stationed in Poland from 2012, Komorowski has said.

Sikorski said on Thursday that Poland would also be invited by the United States in due course to host an element of Obama's revamped missile defense system.

"We think this is an interesting offer... We are waiting for written proposals. This is an American decision. We will take a close look when we receive an offer," he said, without providing further details.