Land Forces
Pustelnik ATGM Programme Participants Unveiled
Photo. St. Chor. Sławomir Mrowiński / WDK IWsp SZ RP.
The Armament Agency announced that 7 entities have submitted their proposals to participate in preliminary market consultation, concerning the deliveries of the Pustelnik ATGM - both domestic, as well as foreign ones.
The list is as follows, as provided to us by the Spokesman for the Armament Agency Krzysztof Płatek:
- LIG Nex1 Co., Ltd.
- Stunner Consulting Lucjan Mucha
- Raytheon Missiles & Defense Co., with Lockheed Martin Co.
- MBDA Missile System Inc.
- Zakłady Sprzętu Precyzyjnego Niewiadów Sp. z o.o.
- Wojskowy Instytut Techniczny Uzbrojenia (Military Institute of Armament Technology)
- Mesko S.A.
Pustelnik is a light ATGM programme that has been going on since at least 2017. The ATGM is to become one of the building blocks for the anti-tank defence, increasing the potential available to infantry elements.
The programme would be an intermediary element between the anti-tank grenade launchers, and heavier ATGMs, such as Spike-LR, or the Brimstone missiles that would be the primary weapon in the Ottokar-Brzoza tank destroyer programme.
The Polish defence industry is also offering the Pirat ATGM that could potentially be used in the Pustelnik programme. Pirat is a beam-rider missile with a range of 2.5 kilometers, developed jointly by Mesko and CRW Telesystem-Mesko. Pirat also offers a top-attack capability. It utilizes a guidance unit that is common for APR 155 and APR 120 artillery munitions, destined for the Krab/Kryl howitzers, and Rak mortars respectively. And this, most probably, is the weapon offered by Mesko.
LIG Nex1 is a South Korean company that offers a FLIR-guided Raybolt ATGM. Stunner Consulting Lucjan Mucha represents the Rafael company, promoting the light Spike-SR missile on the Polish market. Raytheon and Lockheed Martin are jointly developing the Javelin missile, probably offered in this project, whereas the Pustelnik programme is separate from the already completed acquisition of the Javelin ATGM for the Territorial Defence component. When it comes to MBDA, its Enforcer light ATGM should be viewed as the primary offering in the Pustelnik programme. The Military Institute of Armament Technology meanwhile is working on the Moskit ATGM.