Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz has signed a deal to buy new Piorun short-range man-portable air defense systems, developed by local defense company Mesko. The deal is worth almost 932 million zloty (US $220 million). That was reported by www.radiomaryja.pl.
“Under the deal, the Polish Armed Forces will acquire 1,300 missiles and 420 missile launchers,” Macierewicz said, as quoted in a statement released by the Defense Ministry.
The Piorun, translated roughly to thunderbolt, is an upgraded version of the Grom MANPAD. Based in Skarzysko-Kamienna, in Poland’s south, Mesko is a subsidiary of Poland’s state-run defense group PGZ. The company specializes in making missile systems and ammunition.
The Piorun missiles have a longer range (GROM missiles reach distances of 5.5 kilometers and altitudes of 3.5 kilometers), are capable of striking targets at higher altitudes and offer more resistance to countermeasures.