The portable anti-aircraft rocket set Piorun is 1 of the flagship products of Mesko from the Polish Armed Group. The Polish Army has been equipped with Lightning for respective years, but the weapon is besides very popular abroad. Among the users of Polish rocket kits are, among others, Norwegians who have just boasted that they have carried out the first shootings from the launcher.
Lightning Sets entered the arms of Norwegian units from the Finnmark region at the border with the Russian Federation. It was there at Porsangmoen og Halkavarre, in the presence of representatives of Mesko company, that the first shooting from Polish launchers took place.
Norwegians: Attention, we have Lightning
– We are in the process of building a layered air defence at Finnmark," said Colonel Jørn Qviller, commander of the Finnmark land defence. Lightning will service as a tool for defending a very short range, which will complement average and long scope systems. – The enemy must face a threat on our part. It must fly higher, bypass the protected area, or completely abandon operations. He cannot be certain that helicopters and unmanned vehicles will be completely free erstwhile they fly over the Norwegian territory protected by Lightning," stressed Forsvaret (Norwegian Armed Forces). Polish launchers are already equipped with garrison soldiers in the municipality of Sør-Varanger, who are liable for defending the nearly 200-kilometre border with Russia.
Export Hit of Polish Armory
Portable anti-aircraft rocket set (PPZR) Lightning is simply a construction which was created as a consequence of a thorough modernization of PPZR Grom (in the equipment of the Polish Army since 1995). According to its manufacturer, Mesko, Lightning is designed to combat helicopters, aircraft, unmanned aircraft and winged rockets. The rocket with the FRAG-HE warhead features a fuse equipped with a proximity sensor to harm the mark erstwhile it passes a short distance. The rocket set includes an additional daytime and thermal sight. It is besides equipped with a launch mechanism, which allows the operator to choose, among others, a pursuit-meeting mode, a kind of target, weather conditions. Missiles fired from Lightning can scope a tallness of 4000 m and harm targets within a distance of 6500 m. They're moving at 560 m/s.
Outside Poland, armed forces are equipped with lightning. UkraineLithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Norway, USA, Georgia. Late July The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence informed about the acquisition of further sets in a joint contract with Poland, Latvia and Norway. specified cooperation allowed Lithuania to apply for backing (10–15% of the acquisition value) from EU funds under EDIRPA. The Lithuanians have besides enjoyed utilizing Gromów, which have been equipping their army since 2014. In May 2023, Mesko informed of the signing of a contract worth EUR 20 million with the Lithuanian purchasing agency on the Grom launcher. They will be provided to Lithuania from 2024 to 2025.
Norway bought the first Lightning in late 2022. She received the weapon little than a year later. ‘The tender procedure was conducted in open competition. The Polish product won with a French, Swedish and American solution," Mesko informed at the time.
