Warsaw, Feb. 15, (dpa/GNA) - Poland is investing in its arms industry in response to the Russian war against neighbouring Ukraine.
The EU country will provide the Huta Stalowa Wola company with the equivalent of around €125 million for recapitalization, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced on Wednesday, the PAP agency reported.
This is only the first tranche of investment, with further amounts in the hundreds of millions to follow. “We are creating a new, huge production potential in our country,” said the conservative nationalist politician.
Huta Stalowa Wola, located in south-eastern Poland, is mainly state-owned. The industrial complex, which includes a steelworks, was founded before World War II.
Its products today include the AHS Kryl 155-millimetre self-propelled wheeled gun-howitzer, the AHS Krab self-propelled tracked gun-howitzer and the WR-40 Langusta multiple rocket launcher.
The production capacity of the Krab howitzers will be increased, Morawiecki announced during his visit to the plant.
The Polish army has ordered 48 machines of this type for its own stocks. A larger number of Krab howitzers have also already been delivered to Ukraine as part of a supply contract with Kiev.
Poland has been a member of the NATO defence alliance since 1999.
GNA