Poland received the first batch of HIMARS multiple rocket launchers.

Warsaw plans to deploy this US-made weapon system on Poland’s border with Russia, according to Polish Defence Minister, Mariusz Blaszczak.

In March, the Polish Ministry clarified that these long-range systems will equip a military unit based in Olsztyn, about 80 km from the border with Kaliningrad, the Russian enclave located between Poland and Lithuania.

According to the Polish Minister, HIMARS will strengthen the Polish Army in the eastern part of the country and in the eastern wing of the Atlantic Alliance (NATO).

Poland, a country bordering Ukraine, which it strongly supports, bought 20 HIMARS in 2019 and is now receiving its first delivery of these systems. Warsaw has said that it is negotiating with Washington to acquire a much larger number of these weapons.

The US Congress has approved the sale of nearly 500 missile launchers to Poland. They will be transferred to Poland as soon as possible, Blaszczak said yesterday, while saying that Poland’s intention is to ensure that under this new contract, which is under negotiation, the co-production of HIMARS can take place in Poland.

Poland has announced a significant increase in defence spending, which now amounts to 4% of the country’s GDP. The country’s Prime Minister justified this increase by saying that Poland needs to arrange procurement faster in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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