Striking with Pioruns at night. A show for SAFE partners

Soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces demonstrated the use of Piorun systems, including missile live-firing. This took place in the presence of representatives from EU nations as part of a campaign to promote Polish-made weaponry. It is directly linked to the implementation of a major procurement programme. The Armament Agency is currently completing a contract from December 2016 with MESKO S.A. and the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ), which was amended in 2022 to increase the scope of deliveries several times over. In October 2026 alone, several hundred launch mechanisms were received, and the missile stockpile is being replenished on an ongoing basis. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed in the coming months.

In parallel, the implementation of a new, significantly larger contract concluded under a joint procurement formula within the SAFE instrument is beginning. The framework agreement from August 2026, signed by the Armament Agency with MESKO on behalf of a consortium consisting of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Norway, is valued at over PLN 8 billion net (approx. £1.53 billion / €1.85 billion). The first executive agreement (from September 2026) covers several thousand missiles and several hundred launch mechanisms for the Polish Armed Forces. Upon signing that agreement, it was reported that the inclusion of other nations in the framework agreement was being considered, among them the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Piorun Man-Portable Air-Defence System is a very short-range system designed as part of a development project carried out by MESKO (leader), CRW Telesystem-Mesko, and the Military University of Technology (WAT), utilising experience gained from the construction of the Grom system. The Piorun is characterised by increased resistance to jamming and the ability to engage targets with a low thermal signature. It allows for the elimination of aerial targets, such as helicopters, aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and other airborne threats, at a range of 0.4–6.5 km and an altitude from approximately 10 m to 4,000 m.

Since 2022, this system has been deployed in Ukraine and successfully used in combat, including against cruise missiles, helicopters (such as the Ka-52 and Mi-35M), combat aircraft (Su-34 and Su-25), and UAVs. It is currently one of the most frequently exported products of the Polish defence industry.