The Pioruns have so far proven to be excellent in the hands of Ukrainian soldiers, who have successfully used the systems against Russian helicopters, among other things. The weapon is manufactured by Skarżysko-based Mesko from the Polish Armaments Group. It is a real Polish export hit.
Pioruny is a Polish export hit. Now they will defend Europe
Poland, the United States, Ukraine, Norway, Georgia, Estonia and Slovakia. According to the manufacturer’s representatives, the current production capacity amounts to about 1 thousand missiles per year. The price of one is about PLN 900 thousand. As reported, Mesko now has a chance for further orders related to the EU instrument EDIRPA, which means “strengthening the European defence industry through orders implemented on the basis of cooperation”. This is a program created on the basis of a regulation of the European Parliament and the EU Council. The EDIRPA budget is EUR 310 million. In June, representatives of the Ministry of National Defence spoke about submitting six other Polish products to the program, but for now these are only Pioruns.
As explained by Lt. Col. Grzegorz Polak, spokesman for the Armaments Agency, the joint application in the “Air and anti-missile defense” section was submitted by Estonia, Lithuania, Norway and Poland. The three remaining applications were to come from the Polish Armaments Group – the Piorun portable anti-aircraft missile system, the Baobab-K scattered mine-laying vehicle and the MSBS Grot rifles, and from the WB group – FlyEye drones, WarMate loitering munitions and the Gladius search and strike system.
The Piorun anti-aircraft missile systems are just the beginning
The reason for the smaller number of applications from Poland than expected is simple – the project requires gathering several European countries that want to buy a given product and at the same time the industry must have the appropriate production capacity. This required quick consent from other countries, which is not easy. It worked in the case of Norway and Estonia, among others, because they had already ordered Pioruns.
“As the project leader, we can gain a little over PLN 100 million in bonuses for joint purchases, the money for which will be provided by the interested countries,” we read. A total of over EUR 100 million has been allocated for the “Air Defense” part of EDIRPA. The movement with Piorun under the EU EDIRPA instrument is to be just the beginning. The instrument is planned for 2024-2025 and is to be a kind of pilot program for another program – EDIP, the budget of which in 2025-2027 is to amount to EUR 1.5 billion.
Source: Gazeta
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