Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak speaks at a signing ceremony in Torun, Poland, on Sept. 11, 2023, marking a framework agreement for Poland’s acquisition of M142 HIMARS missile launcher components for the HOMAR-A system. (Leszek Chemperek/Polish Defense Ministry)
Poland’s stock of high mobility artillery rocket system launchers will rise from 20 to 500, and Warsaw is also buying additional components of a state-of-the-art missile defense system from the U.S., the Polish Defense Ministry said.
The purchases announced Monday supplement the billions of dollars Poland has spent in recent years to modernize its armed forces amid fears of growing Russian aggression in Europe.
The 486 HIMARS launchers that Poland agreed to buy in the latest deal add to the ones it ordered in 2019, roughly three years before the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
The first launchers from the new order are expected to arrive in 2025 or 2026.
“Let us assume that the rulers of the Kremlin decide to rebuild the Russian Empire,” Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Monday at a ceremony in Torun to mark the acquisition. “Our goal is to create a situation in which a strong Polish army will actually deter (them).”
The HIMARS is a multiple rocket launcher developed by Lockheed Martin with a range of up to 190 miles. Ukrainian forces have been successfully using it to attack Russian command posts and ammunition depots.
As part of a framework agreement, Polish industry will work with Lockheed Martin to integrate key components of the HIMARS launcher onto a Jelcz 6x6 truck, the defense firm said in a statement, adding that the agreement also includes technology transfer and production orders for HIMARS ammunition.
The first HIMARS launchers in the 2019 order, which cost more than $400 million, arrived in Poland in May. The weapons were proving their worth in Ukraine, Blaszczak said then, adding that Poland was keen on purchasing hundreds more.
A HIMARS academy to provide logistics, servicing and training on the system, including for troops from other NATO countries, will be established in Torun as well.
Poland is buying most of the weapons for its military modernization from the U.S. and South Korea. Some of that hardware will replace weapons the country agreed to give Ukraine, including over a dozen Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets.
In 2022, Poland received several U.S. Patriot missile systems. Earlier this year, the country welcomed its first batch of Abrams battle tanks. Apache attack helicopters and F-35 fighter jets are other major weapons systems it’s adding to its arsenal.
The U.S. State Department also agreed to the potential sale of an integrated air and missile defense battle command system to Poland, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Monday.
Blaszczak described it as a key element of the anti-aircraft and anti-missile program and said price negotiations will start soon.
Poland has signed legislation authorizing the government to spend 3% of gross domestic product on defense from 2023. Some government members have said the country will aim for 4%.
Either figure would surpass the 2% threshold expected of NATO members.
“We will not stop on this road,” Blaszczak said. “The Polish army will be stronger year by year and will be equipped with modern weapons.”
