First HIMARS arrive in Poland to be assigned to 16th Mechanized Division.

On May 15, the Polish Ministry of Defense published a report about the delivery f the first five M142 HIMARS. “Today we are accepting HIMARS for the Polish Army. This equipment is combat proven in the hands of the Ukrainians by stopping the Russian invasion. (…) This weapon will go to the northeastern part of our country, to the 16th Mechanized Division. Its task will be to deter the aggressor, and strengthen the Polish Army on the eastern flank of Poland and the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance, said Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Błaszczak.
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Reception of the first HIMARS by the Polish Army with the participation of the head of the Polish Ministry of National Defense (Picture source: Polish MoD)

On May 15, during a conference at the 1st Transport Aviation Base in Warsaw, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak announced that the first units of the HIMARS for the Polish Army had been delivered to Poland. This is the result of a contract of February 2019 for the acquisition of a first squadron of HIMARS in the "American configuration". "We are negotiating another deal on the HIMARS. The US Congress approved the sale of almost 500 launchers to Poland. (…) We want to ensure that, under this new contract currently being negotiated, the co-production of HIMARS, both launchers and missiles, takes place in Poland", said the head of the Polish Ministry of Defence.

The deliveries currently being carried out are the first step in equipping the Polish Armed Forces with systems of multiple rocket launchers capable of striking targets at the operational level, i.e. several hundred kilometers away.

"We are watching what is happening in Ukraine. Artillery plays a key role in this war, in repelling the Russian invasion. So the ability to strike at a long distance is undoubtedly important for the strength of the Polish Army. Hence our efforts related to increasing these capabilities within the Polish Army", added Deputy Prime Minister M. Błaszczak.

Since last year, deliveries of other elements that are part of the squadron's equipment have been successively carried out, e.g. technical support vehicles, as well as combat assets. The construction of the new capacity will also include further orders for M142 HIMARS launchers.

"It is a very good weapon! This is a weapon which, in the hands of great Polish artillerymen, will constitute an important argument in deterring the Russian aggressor. (...) We are optimistic that it will be possible to sign a contract concerning the acquisition of further launchers for the Polish Army as soon as possible. Therefore, in a relatively short time, we will have a large firepower, a large reinforcement of the Polish artillery", emphasized Minister Błaszczak.

"Soon, we will create the HIMARS Academy in Toruń, modeled on the Abrams Academy. This will be a place that will serve, on the one hand, everything that is related to logistics, the service of HIMARS, but also will be used for training artillerymen. Our ambition is to strengthen the Polish Army as much as possible", stated the head of the Ministry of National Defense.

"The HIMARS Academy will be another asset for us when it comes to training artillerymen from other countries of the eastern flank of NATO. And it will also be a very important argument in our efforts to ensure that the service of the HIMARS, as well as the co-production of the HIMARS, takes place in Poland, primarily for the use of the Polish Army but also for the use of other NATO countries that are interested in owning or already have HIMARS", concluded Minister Błaszczak

The meeting at the 1st Air Transport Base in Warsaw was also attended by Richard R. Verma, US Deputy Secretary of State.

The meeting at the 1st Air Transport Base in Warsaw was also attended by Richard R. Verma, US Deputy Secretary of State (Picture source: Polish MoD)

Defense News May 2023