A spectacular assault operation by Polish Special Forces in the Baltic Sea

The Jednostka Wojskowa GROM (Military Unit GROM) is perhaps the most famous unit of the Polish Army worldwide.

Silent and dark: this is the GROM, the most famous of the Polish special forces
MSBS Grot, the Polish ambidextrous rifle that manages to rival the prestigious HK416

Founded on July 13, 1990, this unit is the heir to the famous Cichociemni, the "silent and dark" paratroopers who formed the elite of the Polish Army during World War II. The GROM specializes in counter-terrorism operations, but can carry out various types of special operations. In addition to operating in urban and rural areas, one of its domains is the sea.

In order to operate in the cold and volatile waters of the Baltic Sea, the GROM has a Combat Craft Unit whose purpose is to provide support to the unit's special operations soldiers in the aquatic environment. A few days ago, the Polish military daily Polska Zbrojna published an excellent report on a GROM assault operation in the Baltic Sea, a hostage rescue exercise that involved storming a ship on the high seas (the video is in Polish, you can turn on automatic English subtitles in the bottom bar of the player):

The GROM is one of the most prestigious special operations groups in the world. Its level of training is comparable to the US DEVGRU and Delta Force, the British SAS, and Israel's Sayjeret Matkal. This Polish special unit was organized following the SAS model and has collaborated on joint operations with the US Navy SEALs.

In the video, we see a vessel with a blue hull and white superstructure used in this exercise. It is not a civilian vessel: it is the Zodiac ship, which was transferred by the Polish Maritime Authority to the GROM in 2021 to conduct maritime assault exercises. Launched in 1982 in Gdańsk, it has a displacement of 751 tons and a length of 61.33 meters.

For its naval operations, the GROM uses several types of surface vessels. The smallest are the Zodiac FC 470 Futura Commando boats, a very popular model among special forces from different countries. They are 4.7 meters long, weigh 1,250 kilos, and have a capacity for 10 people.

The boats we see in this video are larger RIBs, specifically the Zodiac Hurricane. These boats are armed with 7.62 mm FN MAG M-240 machine guns in the bow.

In addition to boats, the GROM also has diving propulsion vehicles, ideal for underwater forays. These aquatic vehicles are used by the GROM and the Polish Special Forces Unit (Jednostka Wojskowa Formoza), the Polish Navy's equivalent of the US Navy SEALs.

In addition to water vehicles, the Polish Special Forces have eight Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk helicopters. We see one of them in this video. It should be noted that unlike other countries, in Poland the Special Forces have their own branch of the Polish Army (as the Armed Forces are known in the country), independent of the Land Force, the Navy and the Air Force.

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Imágenes: Polska Zbrojna.