“We are welcoming Himars to the Polish Armed Forces today. Equipment that has proven itself in battle in the hands of the Ukrainians stopping the Russian invasion. (…) These weapon will go to the northeastern part of our country, to the 16th Mechanized Division. Its task will be to deter the aggressor, strengthen the Polish Armed Forces on the eastern flank of Poland and the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance.” – Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said.
On May 15, during a conference at the 1st Transport Aviation Base in Warsaw, Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced that the first Himars had been delivered to Poland to the Polish Armed Forces. The delivery of the first M142 HIMARS launchers is the result of an agreement in February 2019 to procure the first divisional fire module of HIMARS multi-launcher rocket launchers in the “American configuration.”
We are negotiating another Himars deal. The US Congress has authorized the sale of nearly 500 launchers to Poland. (…) We want to bring the co-production of Himars, both launchers and missiles, to Poland as part of this new contract.
- said the head of the Polish defense ministry.
The ongoing deliveries are the first step in equipping the Polish Armed Forces with multi-propelled missile launcher systems capable of striking targets at the operational level, i.e. several hundred kilometers.
We observe what is happening in Ukraine. Artillery plays a pivotal role in the war, in repelling the Russian invasion. So, long-range missile capability is undoubtedly relevant to the strength of the Polish Armed Forces. Hence our efforts related precisely to increasing these capabilities within the Polish Army
- noted Deputy Prime Minister M. Blaszczak.