Poland will deploy a new rocket brigade of around 800 soldiers in central towns as part of a broader military build-up for the “defense of the Republic of Poland,” the country’s defense minister has said. Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz announced that the 2nd Rocket Brigade will be based in the central towns of Łowicz and Gostynin under the Armed Forces Strengthening Package 2023–2025. “Soon 800 soldiers will be stationed in this region,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said after signing a letter of intent with Gostynin’s mayor on cooperation in national security and defense on Wednesday. The unit will be equipped in part with South Korean K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers, most of which are being assembled domestically as Warsaw pushes to expand its defense industry. “We are ‘Polonising’ multiple rocket launchers under the HOMAR-K program for the defense of the Republic of Poland. ‘Polonising’ means we are also investing in the Polish defense industry,” he said. “The war in Ukraine has clearly shown the role played by the ‘God of war’ [artillery]… such as HIMARS or Chunmoo in the Polish version,” he said. The minister added that components of the Chunmoo systems are produced by domestic firm Huta Stalowa Wola on Jelcz chassis, while a joint venture between South Korea’s Hanwha and Poland’s WB Electronics is building a major rocket production facility in western Poland. Officials also framed the project as an economic boost for the region. “For a county that does not have large industry, this is also a fundamental investment in stable service, but also work,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
