WASHINGTON — European nations are facing a “Catch-22” when it comes to the question of buying American weapons, a top Polish general said Wednesday.
The issue, according to Lt. Gen. Piotr Błazeusz, Poland’s military representative to NATO, is that the US is putting pressure on European capitals to invest heavily in defense, but when those European militaries try to buy from Washington, the delivery timelines prove too long and too uncertain.
“When they come to the US and say, ‘We would like to buy the system’ …they are told, ‘Okay, but [it will be delivered in ] 2029-2030 and you know, it still could be delayed,’” the three-star general said at a Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress lunch.
The result, Błazeusz explained, is that “Then [Europeans] look around” to see what else is on the market, whether produced in Europe or elsewhere. And when they go shopping, they are no longer looking for the gold-plated solutions that American firms specialize in, but instead looking at “good enough” solutions that are more affordable and arrive more quickly.
“It’s a tricky business,” he added. “In our case, we strongly believe in the US equipment, it’s easy to integrate” with, but the long delivery timelines and limited ability to locally maintain, repair, and overhaul (MRO) equipment has led Poland to alternative providers.
