HIMARS long-range missile launchers arrive in Poland

WARSAW

The first HIMARS long-range missile launchers have arrived in Poland, National Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Monday.

In 2019, Poland ordered 20 HIMARS long-range rocket artillery systems, with 18 combat and two training launchers, for $414 million from the US.

“Today we are accepting HIMARS launchers into the Polish Army. This is equipment that has proven itself in Ukraine. The hosts of the first copies will be soldiers of the 1st Artillery Brigade of the 16th Mechanized Division,” Blaszczak said.

He stressed that the acquisition was about the continuous strengthening of Poland's eastern border and, consequently, NATO's eastern flank.

“Our ambition is to strengthen the Polish Army as soon as possible. As the example of Ukraine shows, artillery plays an important role in armed conflicts,” he added.

In a sign of ongoing heightened tensions, Polish President Andrzej Duda said a flying object that entered Polish airspace on Friday may be linked to the ongoing Moscow-Kyiv war.

The unauthorized object that entered Polish airspace came from neighboring Belarus, the Ministry of National Defense announced on Monday.

The ministry said the object was likely an observation balloon, which flew over the capital Warsaw.

The Polish military scrambled a helicopter, drone, and ground troops to carry out a search by air and land in response to the intrusion, it added, saying the object disappeared from the radar at 12.30 a.m. local time on Saturday (2230GMT Friday) near the central town of Rypin, 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the border with Belarus.

“Never has war been so close to us, never been so tangible,” Duda said. “It creates many different, difficult situations, many provocations, even those that we see even in the last hours.”