Poland received its first HIMARS rocket systems from the US, with prospects for 20 systems to be delivered by the end of the year, the Defence Ministry announced on Monday.
The system, first ordered by Warsaw in 2019, has been used by Ukraine to defend against Russian aggression, prompting Poland to consider increasing its initial order. The ministry said Poland may purchase up to 500 HIMARS launchers from Washington.
“Our ambition is to strengthen the Polish army as quickly as possible,” said Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, referring to Poland’s efforts to boost its military potential in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Besides, the newly-possessed weapon will allow Poland to acquire “a lot of firepower in a relatively short time,” said Błaszczak.
The systems delivered on Monday are part of Poland’s order for 20 systems in 2019 for $414 million (€381 million). Besides the US, Poland is the sixth country after Ukraine, Romania, Singapore, UAE and Jordan that will use the HIMARS systems produced by Lockheed Martin.
After HIMARS proved their effectiveness in the war in Ukraine, Poland requested 18 launchers and 468 launcher loader module kits for $10 billion (€9,2 billion). The US State Department and Congress approved the deal earlier this year.
Błaszczak also announced the Defence Ministry’s plans to launch a special entity for training in using the HIMARS system.
The Ministry will set up a HIMARS Academy, similar to the Abrams Academy, which opened last year, that serves training soldiers in Abrams tanks Poland also purchased from the US.
In the future, the minister said that Poland wants to participate in the production of both the launchers and rockets from HIMARS.
(Aleksandra Krzysztoszek | EURACTIV.pl)
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