WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s state-run defense group PGZ has chosen the U.K.’s BAE Systems as its technology partner for the planned boost in domestic ammunition production.
In a statement, PGZ said the final decision on the partner was preceded by a multi-stage selection process and talks with a number of bidders.
“The analysis considered several aspects, including the three main criteria: production sovereignty, technological solutions and price. The offer submitted by BAE Systems proved to be the most advantageous in the context of the selection criteria, national security, and the future development of PGZ’s ammunition domain potential,” according to PGZ.
BAE Systems said in a statement the envisioned munitions factory “will use BAE Systems’ manufacturing technology and feature the same automated technology that will deliver a sixteen-fold increase in production capacity of 155mm artillery shells at its facilities in the U.K.”
The past months have brought an intensification in the lobbying activities by a number of foreign companies seeking to team up with PGZ on artillery ammunition production.
In addition to BAE Systems, other manufacturers that have offered their products and technology to Poland include General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, KNDS, Czechoslovak Group and Turkey’s Makine ve Kimya Endüstrisi.
The Polish Ministry of National Defence is seeking a radical increase in the domestic supply of 155mm rounds for the country’s military. This comes as the Army continues to secure new K9 Thunder howitzers from South Korea’s Hanwha Defense and Krab howitzers from PGZ.
In the long-term, the Polish military is to operate a fleet of around 1,000 self-propelled howitzers. At the same time, the nation’s artillery ammunition manufacturing output remains modest, and the selection of a foreign partner for PGZ is meant to enable the group to expand its production.
By 2028, Poland is to accommodate three new artillery ammunition factories, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said during his Aug. 11 visit to the plant of Mesko, a PGZ subsidiary that specializes in making ammunition and rockets. In a statement issued by the Polish ministry, Tusk said that, as of end 2023, Poland’s defense industry was capable of producing only 5,000 caliber 155mm rounds per year.
“More is used in one day on the Russian-Ukrainian front, much more. This year, we will reach the level of 30,000 [rounds], just two years later,” the prime minister said. “An ambitious and very realistic goal is that, in the next two years, we will reach the level of close to 200,000 [rounds] per year.”
Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.
