Mariusz Błaszczak announced the deal at a news conference in Warsaw on Thursday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The defence minister said: “I have just approved a framework agreement regarding an order for 155mm artillery ammunition for the Polish army, from a consortium led by the state-run Polish Armaments Group (PGZ).”
'War in Ukraine shows that artillery plays a key role'
Błaszczak, who is also a deputy prime minister, stated: “The war in Ukraine clearly shows that artillery plays a key role.”
He added that artillery was instrumental "both in Ukraine’s successful efforts to defend itself and in Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.”
The defence minister declared: “The Polish government is making decisions to strengthen the artillery forces.”
Błaszczak said it was important to buy “significant amounts” of artillery ammunition for the army.
He told reporters: “In Ukraine, troops use tens of thousands of ammunition shells every day.”
He added: “Our order is for hundreds of thousands, but it is also possible to talk about a million artillery shells produced by the Polish arms industry.”
'A million artillery shells a year'
Błaszczak declared: “Producing a million artillery shells a year is a big challenge, but also an absolute necessity to ensure Poland’s national security.”
He said the government’s new order for 155mm artillery shells “allows the Polish arms industry to boost its production capacity.”
“We’ll use this ammunition to train our soldiers and to serve as a reserve arsenal for the Polish army," Błaszczak announced. "And if our arms makers quickly increase their production capacity, which I am absolutely convinced will happen, Poland will also be able to export ammunition abroad.”
Thursday is day 463 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, gazetaprawna.pl, gov.pl