Poland has signed a contract with Estonia for the delivery of 300 Polish Piorun man-portable air defence missiles and 100 launch mechanisms. The weapon has proved a success in Ukraine’s defence against Russia, after Poland supplied the system to Kyiv.
“[Piorun] stops and delays Russian aggression against Ukraine,” said Poland’s defence minister, Mariusz Blaszczak, after a meeting with his Estonian counterpart Hanno Pevkur. It has “proven itself in the most difficult combat conditions”.
“I am very pleased that these weapons have been supplied to the Polish army and are now being supplied to the Estonian army,” he added, noting that delivery of the equipment will begin next year.
Fabryka #Mesko 🇵🇱 dostarczy Estonii 🇪🇪 3⃣0⃣0⃣ pocisków rakietowych i 1⃣0⃣0⃣ mechanizmów startowych. Zestawy przeznaczone są do zwalczania nisko lecących statków powietrznych. Skuteczność bojowa zestawów #Piorun potwierdzana jest przez Ukraińców 🇺🇦 podczas walk z Rosją. pic.twitter.com/3WmmcIh7fx
— Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej 🇵🇱 (@MON_GOV_PL) September 7, 2022
“I would like to say that today’s signing is indeed a historic moment for Poland and Estonia,” said Pevkur, speaking alongside Błaszczak. “It is also a historic moment for our bilateral cooperation and our defence sectors.
“We all see what is currently happening in Ukraine,” he continued. “Therefore, it is our responsibility to respond in a collective way quickly to what Russia is doing… We also share the same view as Poland with regard to increasing defence spending.”
The Piorun (whose name means “lightning” in Polish) went into service in 2019 as a modernisation of the Grom (meaning “thunder”) man-portable air-defence system. It is produced by Polish defence firm Mesko.
Piorun anti aircraft missiles donated to Ukraine by Poland shot down the Russian Mi-24 helicopter today.
Unlike Stingers, Piorun can down targets flying very low (10m altitude/400m distance). #Ukraine #Poland pic.twitter.com/tObKBZQ9KU
— The Azeri Times (@AzeriTimes) March 5, 2022
Pioruns have been among military equipment worth over $1.7 billion that Poland has donated to Ukraine this year, to help its neighbour defend itself following Russia’s invasion.
They have been successfully used to shoot down Russian Su-34 and Su-25 planes as well as Mi-24 and Ka-52 helicopters.
In June, Błaszczak approved an agreement increasing the number of Pioruns ordered for the Polish military to 3,500 missiles and 600 launch mechanisms.
Saint Piorun, aka the Thunderbolt. Gifted to Ukrainians by the wonderful people of Poland, Saint Piorun is most feared by Russian aircraft that dare to fly low above the holy Ukrainian land.
Link: https://t.co/NKonk9gwhi pic.twitter.com/ZcEfXPqTKz
— Saint Javelin (@saintjavelin) June 21, 2022
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland has itself been on a military procurement spree, following the government’s decision to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP, one of the highest levels in NATO.
As well as signing purchase agreements with the US and South Korea – including for Abrams tanks and FA-50 fighter aircraft – the defence ministry is also planning further deals with domestic producers.
“We will sign agreements on further investments, including further Krab self-propelled howitzers with accompanying vehicles,” said Błaszczak in an interview for a new news portal i.pl published earlier this week.
The minister noted that “the last year or two have been an unprecedented period in terms of the development and procurement of equipment for the Polish army” and that the investment would continue “for years” to come.
Main photo credit: MON (under CC BY 3.0 PL)
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
