Armed Forces
Polish Krab Howitzer Deal Pushed Down the Timeline. Armament Agency Unveils the Details
Photo. U.S. Army Europe and Africa/Twitter
The 28th February date, declared as the point on the timeline when the performance contract would be signed, regarding four battalions using 96 Krab howitzers, will not be met. The reason for that, as Lt. Col. Grzegorz Polak, spokesman for the Armament Agency, stated, is that HSW S.A. has still been unable to submit its bid.
On 8th December 2023, a framework agreement was signed by and between the Armament Agency, and PGZ/HSW, concerning 152 Krab howitzers within the framework of six Battalion-level Fire Modules. The assumption was for the execution contracts to be divided into two stages. During phase I, four battalions were to be procured - 96 Krab howitzers, along with accompanying platforms. Another two battalions were to come in phase II. The agreement also included provisions that could potentially be used as a baseline for the future upgrade of the Krab howitzer.
Declarations emerged, when the framework agreement was being signed, that the first performance/execution contract would be concluded by 28th February.
Defence24.pl found out that the aforesaid deadline must be postponed. The reason for that, as Lt. Col. Grzegorz Polak, spokesman for the Armament Agency, stated, is that HSW S.A. has still been unable to submit its bid.
The above means that it is going to be impossible to sign the agreement on the originally arranged date.
The declared conclusion date expires on 28th February. To effectively conclude the agreement, it is required for the offer to be received, its conditions negotiated, and implemented, thus, leading to a conclusion. Despite the fact that the invitation has been sent, up until now the Armament Agency has not received the bid on a date allowing for efficient execution of the procedure. As a result of that, the date on which the said agreement would be signed will be changed, taking the date when HSW submits the offer into the account.
@ Lt. Col. Grzegorz Polak, Spokesperson for the Armament Agency
Currently, the Polish Armed Forces await for delivery of 42 Krab howitzers, covered by the agreement signed in 2016, along with 48 guns, procured based on the contract signed in 2022. The delivery deadline for 42 howitzers was postponed in 2022, from the original 2022-2024 to 2025-2027. This was a result of an annex requested by HSW being signed, following the conclusion of the Ukrainian procurement agreement. Between 2025 and 2027, it is expected that the Ukrainian Krab procurement contract signed in 2022 will be finalized.
PGZ declared in December last year that manufacturing capacity regarding the Krab howitzer could be boosted, and deliveries - accelerated. The Armament Agency, reacting to that, declared that it is getting ready to launch talks on that matter. A framework agreement was also signed, regarding another 152 Krab systems, establishing a baseline for potential upgrades. As most of the Polish Krab howitzer stockpile was transferred to Ukraine, because the implementation of procurement contract on new Krab systems for Kyiv began, with a necessity to begin expansion of the Polish Army’s artillery units emerging, the Armament Agency also concluded two performance contracts regarding K9A1 and K9PL howitzers in 2022 and 2023, concerning 212 and 152 howitzers respectively, including munitions, and training and logistics packages. Up until now, 66 systems as such have been delivered in total.