In the midst of Russia’s invasion of its neighbor Ukraine, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Bazczak revealed that he has signed a letter of request to purchase 500 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, from the United States.

“We are strengthening our rocket and artillery forces,” Baszczak stated in a tweet issued by his ministry. “I have signed a LOR for the procurement of about 500 M142 HIMARS rockets for more than 80 Homar system batteries.”

According to the minister, a large portion of these systems will be manufactured in Poland, and Warsaw intends to assure the weapons’ “integration with the Polish battlefield management system.”

In October 2018, the Polish government submitted an official request to the United States to purchase Lockheed Martin-manufactured launchers for its Homar program. In February 2019, the two countries agreed to purchase a total of 20 launchers in the program’s initial phase.

According to the Polish Ministry of National Defence, the first HIMARS deal was valued $414 million. Deliveries under this agreement are expected to be completed by 2023.

The new development comes just days after Baszczak said that his ministry had requested six additional Patriot batteries from the United States in order to strengthen Poland’s mid-range air defense capabilities.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Warsaw has accelerated a number of acquisition initiatives. The majority of the contracts are anticipated to be handed to American vendors, signaling a shift toward stronger defense cooperation with the United States and less coordination with European Union allies, according to local experts.