According to a Tweet published by the Polish Ministry of Defense on April 20, 2022, Poland continues talks with the United States for the delivery of HIMARS M142 rocket/missile launcher systems, combat aircraft, helicopters, and drones.
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In partnership with the Philippine Army, fire control specialists with Battery B, 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment, and 17th Field Artillery Brigade, demonstrate the capabilities of the M142 High Mobility Missile Artillery System during a live-fire exercise during Salaknib 2022. (Picture source U.S. DoD)
In November 2017, the U.S. State Department had made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Poland for a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) for an estimated cost of $250 million.
The Government of Poland has requested to purchase sixteen (16) Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) M31A1 Unitary, nine (9) Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) M30A1 alternative warheads, sixty-one (61) Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) M57 Unitary.
The HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) M142 is a mobile rocket/missile launcher system that was developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army by the American company Lockheed Martin. HIMARS received approval to enter production in March 2003 and is currently in Full-Rate Production. HIMARS successfully completed the initial operational test and evaluation in November 2004. In May 2005, the 3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery was the first unit equipped with HIMARS.
The HIMARS is designed to support joint early and forced entry expeditionary operations with high-volume destructive, suppressive, and counter-battery fires. When firing GMLRS-Unitary precision rockets, HIMARS can achieve ranges of 70-plus kilometers, attacking the target with low-collateral damage, enabling danger-close fires (within 200 meters) in support of friendly troops in contact, as well as engaging high-valued point targets in open, urban and complex environments.
The HIMARS is based on a 6x6 FMTV truck chassis with a rocket/missile weapon station mounted at the rear of the truck. In rocket configuration, the HIMARS carries a single six-pack of rockets. It can fire the standard MLRS round, but also the entire MLRS family of munitions, including the extended-range rocket, the reduced-range practice rocket, and all future variants. It can also fire the extended range guided rocket GMLRS, with a range of more than 70 km.
The HIMARS M142 is also able to fire missiles, in this configuration, it carries one missile. It can fire the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) including a full family of surface-to-surface missiles as the MGM-140A Block 1 previously M39 which contains 950 M74 anti-personnel/anti-materiel (APAM) sub-munitions (4.275 kg) with a range of 80 130 km.
