The Belarusian Defence Ministry has reported the forward deployment of a division of Polonez rocket artillery systems to the Polish border due to an increase in tensions in the area. Jointly developed by Belarus and China, with the latter remaining a world leader in rocket artillery systems, the Polonez-M is widely considered the most capable system of its kind in Europe. It has no near peer rivals among systems fielded by either NATO member, and until Russia’s acquisition of North Korean KN-25 systems in late 2023 it also outperformed all known systems in Russian service. The Belarusian Army has received new Polonez-M units in November 2023, with Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Major General Viktor Gulevich having stated at the time that the state’s emphasis on the importance of these kinds of artillery assets was based on observations of their role in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Belarus has placed a strong emphasis on expanding its mobile rocket and missile assets, which are seen to provide an asymmetric counter to collective Western Bloc forces deployed across its western borders. Alongside the Polonez, a new brigade of Iskander-M tactical ballistic systems was commissioned into the Belarusian Army in August, with several more expected to follow. These serve as the primary delivery vehicles for the country’s tactical nuclear weapons that are shared by Russia. Belarus is also developing its own ballistic missile system jointly with Russia which will be based on the Iskander, but is expected to benefit from a longer range. As neighbouring Poland has invested very significantly in expanding its forces, primarily through ground equipment acquisitions from South Korea and F-35 stealth fighter purchases from the United States, tensions on the border between the two states have continued to rise. Polish acquisitions have also focused heavily on rocket artillery systems, with major orders having been placed for the South Korean K239 Chunmoo Multiple Rocket Launcher Systems and smaller orders for the American HIMARS system.