The German government has offered to potentially extend the current temporary deployment of Patriot missile batteries in neighboring Poland until the end of this year, the Defense Ministry in Berlin said on Tuesday.
"The Patriots are making a valuable contribution to protecting the civilian population and our alliance area on the eastern flank as part of the integrated NATO air defense system," the ministry said in a statement.
Three German Patriot squadrons have been deployed in Zamosc in south-eastern Poland since January to protect the country's airspace.
The city is not far from the border with Ukraine.
The Patriot systems were originally supposed to be stationed there for six months at the most.
At a meeting with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius in early July, his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak expressed the hope that the stationing would be extended.
The offer of an extension takes Warsaw's security needs into account, Pistorius said.
According to the ministry, an extension beyond this year is not planned, however.
