The Polish defense company Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) plans to launch a second production line for Piorun MANPADS. Thanks to this, the company is planning to double the annual output to meet the needs of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland as well as foreign customers.
This was revealed by Adam Leszkiewicz, the company's president, in an interview with Defence24. It is reported that PGZ is already completing work on the business plan and investment application for the launch of the second production line.
Read more: Poland to Supply Piorun MANPADS to Ukraine
Defense Express notes that it's a very significant expansion of production capacity. Leszkiewicz did not specify the target production rate for Piorun himself. However, it can be inferred from previous statements.
In 2022, PGZ announced a plan to increase the annual output of Piorun MANPADS from 300 units to 600 by the end of 2022, and then to 1,000 units in 2023. There is a high probability that by 2025, the volumes had been ramped up even further.
In view of this, it is possible to assume that with the new production line, PGZ can reach a manufacturing rate of over 2,000 Piorun units per year. It is worth noting that the implementation of the plan to build a new production line is currently at the stage of submitting an application for funding.
That is, construction has not even begun yet. With that in mind, the commissioning of this production line should be expected at best by the end of 2026.
The demand for Piorun MANPADS is constantly growing. For example, recently, it unexpectedly turned out that Moldova received a significant strengthening of its air defense thanks to these MANPADS.
Defense Express recalls that Piorun is has a declared target engagement range of 6.4 km at altitudes up to 4 km. The locally developed multi-spectral homing head of the Piorun missile was created on a modern element base and has an effective filtering of false thermal targets. The missile has a total mass of 10.5 kg, a warhead weighing 1.82 kg featuring a contact and a non-contact laser fuze.
Earlier, Defense Express showed what simulators Ukrainians use to train with Javelin, Stinger, and Polish Piorun. We also discussed whether it's possible to take down a Shahed drone with a Soviet Igla missile fired from a Polish Piorun.
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Read more: Which Country Quietly Joined the Operators of Piorun MANPADS — and How It Could Help Ukraine
