Poland has received the first batch of US-made HIMARS rocket launchers that it plans to deploy in the region bordering Russia, the Polish defense minister announced on Monday.
In March, the ministry specified that these long-range systems would equip a military unit based in Olsztyn, some 80 kilometers from the border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. According to Mr. Blaszczak, HIMARS “will strengthen the Polish army on the eastern flank of the country and the Atlantic Alliance.”
A new contract under negotiation
Poland, a country bordering Ukraine that it strongly supports, purchased 20 HIMARS in 2019 and has now received the first delivery of these systems. Warsaw says it is negotiating with the United States to acquire a much larger quantity of these weapons.
“We want to make sure that within the framework of this new contract that is currently being negotiated, the co-production of HIMARS can take place in Poland. This is the goal we have set for ourselves,” he added.
Poland has announced a significant increase in defense spending, up to 4% of gross domestic product, and the prime minister has explained that his country must arm itself “more quickly” in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Last December, Estonia signed a contract for the purchase of six HIMARS systems, for an amount of 200 million dollars. This armament is also supplied to Ukraine.
Source: BFM TV
