Poland to purchase 486 HIMARS launchers
Poland has ordered 486 US made HIMARS light multiple rocket launchers, the country's defence minister has announced.
The HIMARS system has been widely used on the battlefields in Ukraine and has been credited with bringing Russian advances to a halt with their pin-point accuracy.
"I have approved a framework agreement for the delivery of 486 HIMARS rocket launchers under the HOMAR-A programme for the Polish Army," Mariusz Blaszczak said in Torun, northern Poland, on Monday.
"Together with the eighteen launchers ordered in 2019 - one squadron - the Polish Army will have 500 HIMARS launchers in 28 squadrons... which is the number needed to deter an aggressor," he added.
Blaszczak said that the first deliveries should be made at the end of 2025 or early 2026.
"The challenge is to adapt and integrate the launchers with Polish systems, but after talks with the Polish arms industry, I can assure you that we will complete this integration within two years," he declared.
The HIMARS are to be integrated into the Polish TOPAZ combat management system, and will be mounted on a chassis manufactured by a domestic company Jelcz.
Poland's Armament Agency said in a press release on Monday that to implement the HOMAR-A programme individual executive agreements will be signed both with US partners, including for the supply of ammunition, and with Polish partners for the supply of command, technical security, ammunition and technical evacuation vehicles.
