OUR Poland received the first batch of HIMARS self-propelled multiple launch rocket systems, and Warsaw plans to deploy this American-made weapons system on the border with RussiaThis was stated today by Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.

“This weapon will be deployed in the northeastern part of our country (…), its task will be to deter the attacker,” Blashak told reporters.

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

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 that it strongly supports, bought 20 HIMARS in 2019 and is now receiving the first batch of these systems.

Warsaw has said it is negotiating with Washington to acquire much more of these weapons.

“The US Congress approved the sale of almost 500 launchers to Poland. They will be transferred to Poland as soon as possible,” Blaszczak said today.

“We want to ensure that under this new contract that is being negotiated, co-production of HIMARS can take place in Poland. This is the goal we have set for ourselves,” he added.

Poland has announced a significant increase in defense spending, which now stands at 4% of the country’s GDP. The country’s prime minister justified this increase by saying that Poland needs to “quickly” arm itself in the face of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP.