The State Department on Tuesday notified Congress that it approved a potential $10 billion rocket launcher sale to Poland as the US’s European allies continue to ramp up military spending.
The deal includes 18 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), rocket launchers that the US has been providing Ukraine. The HIMARS are made by Lockheed Martin, the principal contractor for the sale.
The sale also includes munitions for the HIMARS, including Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which have a range of up to 190 miles, and the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), which can hit targets about 50 miles away.
The State Department’s notification begins a period during which Congress could block the sale. But the deal should breeze through Congress as there is no opposition to arms deals for the US’s European allies.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the policy of flooding the war zone with weapons has been a boon for US defense contractors. They have also been cashing in on European countries raising military spending levels and former Soviet republics getting rid of older Soviet-made gear and looking to replace it with new Western weaponry.
“State Department Approves $10 Billion HIMARS Rocket Sale to Poland Lockheed Martin is the principal contractor for the deal”
The sale also includes munitions for the HIMARS, including Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which have a range of up to 190 miles.
Rumors abound that Poland will give these or use these in Eastern Ukraine.
This just means that Russia will take a 250 nm swath of Ukraine to protect the Eastern Ukrainian provinces of “New Russia”.
Just another Polish Joke!
“This just means that Russia will take a 250 nm swath of Ukraine to protect the Eastern Ukrainian provinces of ‘New Russia.'”
They should probably take “the Eastern Ukrainian provinces of ‘New Russia'” first, before worrying about taking any more to “protect them.”
“New Russia” where most of the population evidently already speaks the Russian language
That seems to be pretty much a done deal, don’t you think? Ukraine hasn’t actually taken anything of value back – Kherson city was a Russian strategic withdrawal, trading an exposed position and 100,000 civilian mouths to feed for a far more defensible position on the other side of the river; and eastern Kharkiv oblast is a whole lot of nothing – the city of Kharkiv itself would be a valuable asset, but there is no way a force of some 30,000 Russians (all they ever had in the northern sector) was going to conquer a city of 1.5 million. The rest of the eastern oblast is just steppe and a few small towns. If you believe the analysis being presented by Col Doug McGregor (retired), and he makes a strong case, both those withdrawals strongly favored Russia militarily.
Kherson south of the river is invaluable to Russia as a shield for Crimea; Kherson north of the river is worth little. Russia is holding what looks to be important to them. I personally don’t see them taking much more (besides incremental gains in the Donbas); but if this much talked about spring offensive is real, I guess we’ll see.
I’m sure that Poland will only use these HIMARS for defensive purposes and that none of them will be sent to Ukraine. Yea right.
This is obviously an attempt to conceal another arms shipment to Ukraine, one which include long range missiles. If Biden trying to fool Russia? Or the American People?
Or is it an attempt to get around some legislative constraint on spending?
All these missiles , tanks ect ect would be destroyed in transit if where Putin , ports , rail , runway`s ect would be wiped out .
“Sale”. Laughing my a$$ off. Where is Poland going to get the money from? Poland’s ENTIRE 2022 military budget was $14 billion dollars; and Poland has committed to purchasing over 1000 modern Korean K2 tanks, hundreds of Korean self propelled howitzers, and some 50 Korean trainers/attack aircraft; as well as several hundred of the latest version M1A2s from the US.
Poland will NEVER “pay” for any of this; it will all be “paid for” through US and EU “grants”; just more welfare for US defense companies paid for by US taxpayers, going to arm our new Hessians in Europe.