2023-01-02 11:55 update: 2023-01-03, 17:23
Fot. PAP/Rafał Guz
The Polish Defence Ministry has ordered nearly 70,000 Polish-made Grot assault rifles and is in talks for even more purchases, Mariusz Blaszczak, the defence minister, has said.
"These are good, proven rifles," Blaszczak said on Monday. "These rifles have been appreciated by the Polish Army, and also by Ukrainian troops.
"It is the most important test that the Grot rifle has passed," the defence minister added.
"We are sticking to our target of a minimum of 300,000 members of the Polish Armed Forces," Blaszczak added, referring to Poland's plans to increase the size of the armed forces to that level. "So we're speaking about that number of rifles.
"But it's not all, because we also need to have rifles for the reservists," he said.
Sebastian Chwalek, CEO of the Polish Armaments Group that produces the rifles, said that the company's success in selling the weapons on the US and African markets showed that "the Grot has potential."
In total, Poland has already contracted close to 100,000 Grots. Polish soldiers received the first Grot assault rifles in 2017. (PAP)
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