Ukraine

What we know about Polish anti-aircraft weapons sent to Ukraine

2 min read
What we know about Polish anti-aircraft weapons sent to Ukraine
A Polish soldier takes aim with a PPZR Piorun anti-aircraft system (ArmyInform)

Poland, which recently joined the club of nations supporting Ukraine with weaponry against the looming Russian aggression threat, decided to provide Ukraine with better weapons than previously expected.

Instead of PZR Grom, the Polish military's workhorse anti-aircraft missile systems promised to Kyiv, Poland is sending a more advanced and modern weapon of the kind – the PPZR Piorun, as well as munitions to it.

The Polish government approved a request by Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak to do so on Feb. 2. The Boryspil Airport is yet to welcome expected dozens of Pioruns, along with unmanned aerial vehicles also promised to Ukraine. According to official statements, they will arrive in the nearest future.

So what do we know of these weapons?

PPZR Piorun is a short-range, man-portable anti-aircraft missile system produced by Polish company Mesko. It is alternatively known as Grom-M (where M stands for "modified"). As the name suggests, it is a deeply modified and modernized version of Grom (Polish for "thunder"), which in its turn is a localized Polish version of older Soviet-made 9K38 Igla systems (NATO reporting name SA-18 Grouse) operated since the early 1980s.

Read also: What we know about US bunker busters sent to Ukraine

Piorun (Polish for "thunderbolt") was introduced in the Polish military as recently as 2019 to gradually retire increasingly obsolete Groms. Defense Minister Blaszczak in his Feb. 2 announcement said Poland is giving Ukraine its "newest weapon."

The system weighs 16.5 kilograms and is 1.6 meters long in total. The weapon is designed to target low-flying airplanes and helicopters, as well as drones. According to developers, Piorun is capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 6,500 meters and at an altitude of up to 4,000 meters, which is enough to engage any Soviet or Russian-made combat helicopter.

The missile's fragmenting warhead's infrared targeting system was seriously improved, which gave the system a wider operational range and stronger ability to resist interference. Besides, the weapon has an individual authorization system for operators and is also adapted to be used in night time.

Read also: What we know about British tank killers likely sent to Ukraine

Upon its specifications, the Piorun is generally comparable or even superior to its newest Russian rival, 9K333 Verba system, which has been in operation since 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hnzT3Vo13-o

Avatar
Illia Ponomarenko

Former Defense reporter

Illia Ponomarenko was a defense and security reporter at the Kyiv Independent in 2021-2023. He has reported about the war in eastern Ukraine since the conflict’s earliest days. He covers national security issues, as well as military technologies, production, and defense reforms in Ukraine. Besides, he gets deployed to the war zone of Donbas with Ukrainian combat formations. He has also had deployments to Palestine and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as an embedded reporter with UN peacekeeping forces. Illia won the Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellowship and was selected to work as USA Today's guest reporter at the U.S. Department of Defense.

Read more
News Feed
Video

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, war has become a daily reality for thousands of Ukrainian children. Some Ukrainian military units, such as the Azov Brigade, offer boot camps for teenagers to teach them the basics of self-defense, first aid, dry firing, and other survival skills — helping them prepare for both the realities of today and the uncertainties of the future.

Show More