Defence minister approves artillery shells contract

The Polish defence minister has approved a large purchase of Polish-made artillery ammunition to increase the Polish industry's production capacity and support the training of Polish soldiers.

"I have just approved a framework contract for the Polish Armed Forces' order of 155mm artillery shells from a consortium headed by Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa," Mariusz Blaszczak said during a conference at the Ministry of National Defence on Thursday.

"The agreement allows the Polish defence industry to increase its production capacity," Blaszczak went on to say. "We will use this ammunition for the training of our soldiers, it will constitute a reserve for the Polish Army, but if these production capacities, and I am deeply convinced of this, increase in a short time, we will also be able to export the ammunition," said Blaszczak.

The defence minister also explained why ordering large amounts of ammunition is important for the Polish defence industry: "Daily, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition are used in Ukraine," he said. "Our order concerns hundreds of thousands, but it can also be said that we can talk about a million rounds of ammunition that should be produced by the Polish defence industry," the minister added.