Poland to buy American HIMARS missile systems
On Sunday 10 February, the Polish government will formally announce its acquisition of US-produced High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
According to a post on the Polish Defense Ministry website, the deal will be officially announced by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.
HIMARS are multipurpose salvo rocket systems that can fire unguided and guided rockets, as well as tactical rockets. The US Department of State authorized the sale of the rocket systems to Poland in November 2017. In addition to the HIMARS, Warsaw plans to buy rockets and a number of other weapons. The deal approved by the State Department will cost Poland $500 million, with the HIMARS accounting for approximately half of the amount.
The Polish army is also expected to purchase sixteen M31A1 Unitary rockets, nine M30A1 rockets, 61 ATACMS M57 Unitary tactical missile systems, eight universal navigation devices for M270 multiple launch rocket systems, 34 practical short-range guided rockets, 1,642 items of equipment, including guidance and control systems, rocket testing kits, GPS receivers, as well as training and logistics services.
The US army has used HIMARS systems in Afghanistan. In 2016, these systems were also used from within Jordan to attack Islamic State positions in Syria. In 2015, the systems were used against terrorists in Iraq.
In June 2017, the HIMARS systems were moved from Jordan to the US base in al-Tanf in southern Syria.