On May 15, during a conference at the 1st Transport Aviation Base in Warsaw, Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced that the first Himars had been delivered to Poland to the Polish Armed Forces. The delivery of the first M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) launchers is the result of an agreement in February 2019 to procure the first divisional fire module of HIMARS multiple rocket launchers in the “American configuration.” The ongoing deliveries are the first step in equipping the Polish Armed Forces with multiple missile launcher systems capable of striking targets at the operational level, i.e. at several hundred kilometers.
Since last year, deliveries of other elements included in the squadron’s equipment, such as technical security vehicles, as well as combat assets, have been carried out successively. Building new capabilities will also include further orders for M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launchers. This is an excellent weapon. It is a weapon that, in the hands of fine Polish artillerymen, will be an important argument in deterring the Russian aggressor. As a result, in a relatively short period of time we will have at our disposal a large firepower, anf a large reinforcement of Polish artillery.
A total of 18 combat and 2 training M142 HIMARS launchers will be delivered to the Polish Armed Forces, along with a stockpile of GMLRS and ATACMS missile and practice (LCRRPR) ammunition, as well as command vehicles and technical protection vehicles. The contract also provides logistical, training and technical support. According to the current delivery schedule, all M142 HIMARS launchers ordered so far will be delivered by the end of this year and will go to the 16th Mechanized Division. All rocket launchers, both M142 HIMARS, including the ones currently being delivered, and K239 CHUNMOO will be integrated with the Polish TOPAZ combat management system and JELCZ chassis.
The M142 HIMARS is a light multiple rocket launcher developed in the late 1990s for the United States Army and mounted on a standard U.S. Army Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) truck frame. The HIMARS carries one pod with either six GMLRS rockets or one ATACMS missile. It is based on the U.S. Army’s FMTV five-ton truck, and is capable of launching all rockets specified in the Multiple Launch Rocket System Family of Munitions (MFOM). HIMARS ammunition pods are interchangeable with the M270 MLRS. The launcher can be transported by Airbus A400M Atlas[11] and Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft.
