U.S. Patriot missile base manned by 100 U.S. soldiers will be set up in Poland in March, Poland’s defense minister Bogdan Klich announced on Saturday.

A day before Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security at the U.S. State Department, Ellen Tauscher and Polish Deputy Defense Minister, Stanislaw Komorowski signed a Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, regulating the stationing of American troops and military equipment in Poland.

The agreement paves the way for U.S. units to establish and operate a Patriot missile battery in Poland that will incorporate an anti-missile shield.

Polish officials said the installation would be permanently based in Poland from 2012, and that Warsaw aims to buy its own anti-missile systems.