TSAMTO, May 16. The Armaments Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Poland reported on the ceremony of handing over the first MLRS M142 HIMARS to the Polish Armed Forces on May 15 at the 1st Okentse Airbase (Warsaw).
The ceremony took place in the presence of the Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak.
During the event, the Polish Armed Forces received the first five M142 launchers delivered by air. At the same time, it is noted that these are not the first deliveries made under the contract signed in 2019. The transfer of other elements that are part of the HIMARS divisional firing module in the "American configuration", including technical support vehicles, began last year. In total, the Polish Armed Forces will receive 18 combat launchers and 2 training, accompanying ammunition, control and technical support vehicles. According to the schedule, all ordered MLRS M142 HIMARS will be delivered by the end of 2023. They will be part of the 1st Artillery Regiment of the 16-1 Mechanized Division of the Polish Armed Forces.
The deliveries being implemented are the first stage of equipping the Polish Armed Forces with MLRS, which allow hitting targets at the operational level (at ranges up to several hundred kilometers). The Polish Ministry of Defense intends to purchase additional MLRS M142 HIMARS in the USA, as well as order and produce together with South Korean partners MLRS K239 "Chunmu". All launchers, both M142 HIMARS and K239, will be integrated into the Polish TOPAZ combat control system.
The further implementation of the program for the adoption of divisional firing modules of rocket artillery also involves the acquisition of technologies related to ammunition used by HIMARS and Chunmu.
As reported by TSAMTO, in November 2018, the US State Department decided to approve the supply to Poland under the Foreign Military Sales program of 20 MLRS M142 HIMARS launchers, GMLRS guided jet ammunition and M57 tactical missiles (ATACMS), other related equipment and services. The total cost of the delivery was estimated at $655 million.
In February 2019, Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak signed a document confirming the conclusion of a contract worth $ 414 million for the purchase of the first divisional fire module "Homar" for the Polish Armed Forces based on the MLRS M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems). As a result, the Polish Armed Forces will receive 18 HIMARS combat launchers, 2 training launchers, as well as a supply of GMLRS, ATACMS and LCRR ammunition.
On May 26, 2022, Mariusz Blaszczak announced the signing of a letter of request (LoR) for the additional purchase of up to 486 M142 HIMARS launchers in the United States to equip 80 rocket artillery batteries.
In February 2023, the US Department of State approved the potential supply to Poland under the Foreign Military Sales program of 18 MLRS M142 HIMARS; 468 sets of artillery units of MLRS HIMARS; 45 OTP M57 (ATACMS); 461 containers with guided RS M30A2 GMLRS-AW; 521 containers with guided RS M31A2 GMLRS-U; 532 containers with controlled extended-range XM403 RS (GMLRS-ER AW), other related equipment and services worth up to $10 billion.
