Mariusz Błaszczak made the announcement at a news conference in the United States on Thursday, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
The Polish defence minister, who is on a five-day trip to North America, visited Lockheed Martin’s missile factory in Camden, Arkansas.
The factory produces the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which is due to be delivered to Poland later this year under a 2019 contract, with another large deal in the pipeline, officials said.
Błaszczak told reporters: “During today’s talks, members of the board of Lockheed Martin assured me that their company is willing to cooperate with the Polish arms industry and to strengthen the Polish arms industry.”
He added: “This is also beneficial to the United States, because such cooperation will make it possible to increase the production of the HIMARS system.”
Błaszczak, who is also a deputy prime minister, said that a "HIMARS centre" would be established in Poland by the end of the year “to produce and service HIMARS systems not only for Poland, but also for other European countries,” many of which are interested in buying this rocket artillery system.
He also stated that the first shipment of HIMARS launchers, ordered in 2019, would be delivered later this month to the Polish army’s 18th Mechanised Division, which is tasked with protecting northeastern Poland.
In February, Błaszczak announced that the US Congress had cleared the sale of nearly 500 HIMARS artillery rocket systems to Poland, adding that "the contract will be finalized soon."
He told reporters on Thursday that talks on the deal “are under way” and that the contract “should be signed soon,” Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Friday is day 436 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, dziennik.pl, tvp.info