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Leopard 2PL
The Leopard 2PL is a main battle tank used by the Polish Armed Forces, and is a modernized version of the older Leopard 2A4 tank, phased out by Germany and first acquired by Poland in the 2000s. The modernisation is currently being carried out in cooperation with Rheinmetall and the Polish Armaments Group (Polish: Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa PGZ).
As soon as the Polish Land Forces took over the first Leopard 2A4 tanks from the Bundeswehr in 2002, it was recognized that their modernization was necessary. However, the first efforts to develop its plan and scope did not begin until mid-2012.
The program was called Leopard 2PL and as a result of the conducted works, two variants of modernization were defined. The basic one included the introduction of an electric turret drive and gun stabilization (in place of hydraulic one), installation of an auxiliary power unit (APU), modernization of the optoelectronic system through e.g. installation of new thermal imaging cameras, modernization of the driver's seat and a new anti-explosion, fire and mine protection package. The second variant was extended to also include a BMS combat management system, installation of a remote-controlled weapon stations on the turret of the tank, new types of ammunition, air conditioning systems in the driver and combat compartment, and modernization of the electronics cooling system.
Finally, the modernization program was included in the "Technical Modernization Plan of the Polish Armed Forces for 2013-2022" (Plan Modernizacji Technicznej) in December 2012. In early March 2013, invitations were sent to interested parties for the technical dialogue, which took place from March to August.
In October 2013, a tender was announced to select a contractor for the program. Three consortia formed to bid:
The final offer was submitted by the third consortium and negotiations with the Inspectorate of Armaments began. In December 2014, the consortium submitted the final proposal based on the solutions of their foreign partner Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, but in 2015 the procedure to select the contractor was terminated due to formal deficiencies and the low participation of Polish industry in the program.
That same year, the decision was made to contract the modernization to the Polish Armaments Group (owner of Bumar-Łabędy and OBRUM). The final offer was made in November 2015, thus starting negotiations.
On December 28, 2015, an agreement was signed between the Inspectorate of Armaments (Inspektorat Uzbrojenia) and a consortium consisting of PGZ and Bumar-Łabędy for the modernization of 128 Leopard 2 tanks with an option for another 14 units. The German partner of the consortium was the German company Rheinmetall Landsysteme, which in the past co-produced Leopard 2 tanks. The contract amount was 2.415 billion PLN. On June 20, 2018, an annex was signed using the option to upgrade 14 tanks, i.e. all Leopard 2A4 tanks used by the Army. The cost of the contract increased to 2.721 billion PLN. The contract originally assumed that all copies of the base order would be transferred by 2020 and those from options for 14 vehicles by 2021.
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Leopard 2PL
The Leopard 2PL is a main battle tank used by the Polish Armed Forces, and is a modernized version of the older Leopard 2A4 tank, phased out by Germany and first acquired by Poland in the 2000s. The modernisation is currently being carried out in cooperation with Rheinmetall and the Polish Armaments Group (Polish: Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa PGZ).
As soon as the Polish Land Forces took over the first Leopard 2A4 tanks from the Bundeswehr in 2002, it was recognized that their modernization was necessary. However, the first efforts to develop its plan and scope did not begin until mid-2012.
The program was called Leopard 2PL and as a result of the conducted works, two variants of modernization were defined. The basic one included the introduction of an electric turret drive and gun stabilization (in place of hydraulic one), installation of an auxiliary power unit (APU), modernization of the optoelectronic system through e.g. installation of new thermal imaging cameras, modernization of the driver's seat and a new anti-explosion, fire and mine protection package. The second variant was extended to also include a BMS combat management system, installation of a remote-controlled weapon stations on the turret of the tank, new types of ammunition, air conditioning systems in the driver and combat compartment, and modernization of the electronics cooling system.
Finally, the modernization program was included in the "Technical Modernization Plan of the Polish Armed Forces for 2013-2022" (Plan Modernizacji Technicznej) in December 2012. In early March 2013, invitations were sent to interested parties for the technical dialogue, which took place from March to August.
In October 2013, a tender was announced to select a contractor for the program. Three consortia formed to bid:
The final offer was submitted by the third consortium and negotiations with the Inspectorate of Armaments began. In December 2014, the consortium submitted the final proposal based on the solutions of their foreign partner Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, but in 2015 the procedure to select the contractor was terminated due to formal deficiencies and the low participation of Polish industry in the program.
That same year, the decision was made to contract the modernization to the Polish Armaments Group (owner of Bumar-Łabędy and OBRUM). The final offer was made in November 2015, thus starting negotiations.
On December 28, 2015, an agreement was signed between the Inspectorate of Armaments (Inspektorat Uzbrojenia) and a consortium consisting of PGZ and Bumar-Łabędy for the modernization of 128 Leopard 2 tanks with an option for another 14 units. The German partner of the consortium was the German company Rheinmetall Landsysteme, which in the past co-produced Leopard 2 tanks. The contract amount was 2.415 billion PLN. On June 20, 2018, an annex was signed using the option to upgrade 14 tanks, i.e. all Leopard 2A4 tanks used by the Army. The cost of the contract increased to 2.721 billion PLN. The contract originally assumed that all copies of the base order would be transferred by 2020 and those from options for 14 vehicles by 2021.