Several Eastern European countries concerned about Russian aggression are moving forward with deals to secure long-range missile systems after watching Ukrainian forces successfully use them against Russia, Newsweek reports.
Defence officials in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are in the process of purchasing High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the U.S., with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine spurring the countries to begin upgrading their militaries. While deals are pending, Ukraine’s smaller military says it has used the relatively nimble rocket launchers to strike key Russian targets from behind the frontlines.
Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak in May told Parliament that Russia’s attack on Ukraine was a wakeup call to expand and modernise the military of Poland, a member of the NATO military alliance.
Shortly after, he announced on Twitter that he had requested from the U.S. about 500 M142 HIMARS launchers and ammunition.
The Pentagon announced on July 15th that the U.S. State Department had signed off on a potential sale to Estonia of six M142 HIMARS and related equipment worth an estimated $500 million. The announcement noted that Estonia is also a member of NATO and the sale would help it “deter regional threats” while advancing U.S. interests.
Main image: Door Spc. Russell J. Good – http://www.defenselink.mil; exact source, Publiek domein, https://commons.wikimedia.org/…
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