Washington said on Wednesday it had agreed to sell Poland 32 F-35 stealth fighter jets worth $ 6.5 billion in a deal that could stoke tension with Moscow. .
In a statement, the US State Department, in charge of approving the sale of weapons, said the deal notes the sale of 32 fighter jets manufactured by the US Lockheed Martin Group and 33 F-135 reactors to Pratt and Whitney, as well as weapons and navigation systems needed for them.
By completing the request for Warsaw, which was announced in June for Polish President Andrzej Duda´s visit to Washington, the United States wants to "provide a key ally in the most advanced NATO fighter in the world and reduce its dependence on obsolete Russian equipment," a State Department official said.
The State Department officially informed Congress of the administration´s intention to make the sale. The deputies have 30 days to appeal, which has not happened for decades.
The F-35s will replace the Polish Air Force´s MiG-29 and S-22 fighter jets "without affecting the balance of power in the region," the statement said.
NATO has strengthened its defense capabilities along its eastern front after Russia annexed Crimea and Moscow´s role in the Ukrainian conflict.
The reinforcements have been deployed in the three Baltic states and Poland, and NATO is taking measures to improve its response capacity in the event of an incursion.
The United States has excluded Turkey, another NATO member, from the F-35 fighter planes for buying Russia´s S-400 defense system.
