Заметка из JDW о том, что поляки заявили о желании начать переговоры о приобретении из наличия Бундесвера еще 123 танков Leopard 2А4 для замены танков РТ-91А в 34-й бронекавалерийской бригаде 11-й бронекавалерийской дивизии (10-я бригада этой дивизии уже имеет Leopard 2А4).
JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY - APRIL 04, 2007
Poland seeks more ex-German Leopard 2 MBTs
Grzegorz Holdanowicz JDW Correspondent
Warsaw
Polish Defence Minister Aleksander Szczyglo has informed Germany's ambassador in Warsaw that Poland would like to "obtain an additional 123 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks [MBTs]" for its 34th Armoured Cavalry Brigade in Zagan.
According to Poland's Ministry of National Defence (MND) press service, both sides have "declared readiness to co-operate on this issue".
Jane's has learned that the 34th Brigade would need 116 Leopard 2A4s to replace its existing Zaklady Mechaniczne (ZM) Bumar Labedy PT-91A MBTs. The brigade is part of the sole Polish heavy 11th Armoured Cavalry Division, along with the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade of Swietoszow. The latter unit received its first Leopard 2A4s in September 2003.
The first transfer of ex-German armour was agreed in January 2001. The package, worth between EUR300 million and EUR380 million (USD399 million-USD506 million), included 128 Leopard 2A4s, 10 Bergepanzer armoured recovery vehicles, six Biber assault bridges, 16 M113 armoured ambulances, 19 M577 command posts, trucks, training devices and ammunition. Officially, Poland only had to pay the EUR22.5 million cost of moving the vehicles from storage.
Current political relations between Warsaw and Berlin, however, are much worse than in 2001 and securing a similar gift might be challenging. As yet, no negotiations have been launched.
Originally, it was planned that the 10th Brigade would operate as part of Germany's 7th Armoured Division and, therefore, all equipment, including communication, command and logistics systems, were converted to German Army standards. After the 7th Division was disbanded at the end of June 2006, the 10th Brigade was subordinated to the 1st Armoured Division.
The MND and ZM Bumar Labedy are in advanced contract negotiations for full maintenance support of Polish Leopard 2A4 MBTs. A ZM Bumar Labedy management source told Jane's that the company's aim is to become in 2007 a fully certified maintenance centre for Leopard 2A4 tanks, which could open "very broad perspectives for future development of the company".
