“On behalf of PiS, we are submitting to Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz a proposal to purchase Polish Pirat anti-tank guided missiles,” said Michał Dworczyk, Member of the European Parliament from Law and Justice (PiS), during a press conference.
On September 18, Minister of Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that the U.S. State Department had approved the sale to Poland of a large number of Javelin launchers and missiles.
Law and Justice politicians organized a press conference today devoted specifically to this matter. Michał Dworczyk, PiS MEP, declared that “on behalf of PiS, we are submitting to Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz a proposal to purchase Polish Pirat anti-tank guided missiles.”
Time to Use What We Have
Referring to the information provided by the defense minister, MPs continued: “In recent days we have learned that the Ministry of Defense plans to spend nearly 2.5 billion PLN on about 2,500 Javelin anti-tank guided missiles. These missiles are to be delivered to the Polish Army, particularly to the Territorial Defense Forces. This would be good news, since these missiles are already in Poland. But now Poland, after spending many millions of PLN, has developed its own Pirat anti-tank guided missile.”
This is very good equipment, which can be successfully used by the Polish Army, can be produced entirely domestically, and is three times cheaper than its foreign counterparts. The Ministry of Defense, especially Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz, had declared that 50% of purchases would be made from the Polish defense industry. Today, when such an opportunity arises, the Ministry wants to buy foreign missiles, they pointed out.
Marcin Horała spoke in the same vein.
“We are not questioning the need to purchase anti-tank guided missiles for the Polish Army, nor the fact that the Javelin missiles are good equipment. But by placing orders with the Polish industry, we support the development of that industry and keep the money in Poland,” said the PiS MP.
He went on to explain that “if we do not do this, in some time we will face major problems.”
“It is also a matter of security to have the know-how domestically and to be able to quickly acquire such means if necessary. This is not the first time that Polish producers have been bypassed. The security of the state and the economic interest should come first,” he clarified.