Industry
Polish Ministry of Defence Acquires Heavy Duty Vehicles for the Territorial Defence Units [UPDATE]
Fot: Wikileaks 
According to the information released by the Polish MoD, on 16th May this year an agreement has been signed by and between the Ministry and the Jelcz Sp. z o.o company, concerning the prospective procurement of 500 medium-sized high mobility Jelcz 442.32 trucks, along with a logistics and training packages. The aforesaid vehicles are going to be received by the Territorial Defence units.Total value of the agreement, including the guaranteed and optional procurement, is said to exceed the amount of PLN 420 million.
The agreement, concerning the procurement of medium load high mobility Jelcz 442.32 platform has been signed by and between the Head of the Armament Inspectorate of the Polish Ministry of Defence, Col. Dariusz Pluta, Deputy Chief of the Leadership for Land Platforms of the Armament Inspectorate, Col. Maciej Zając, President of the Management Board of the Jelcz Sp. z o.o company, Łukasz Duskowski, and Vice-President of the Management Board of the Jelcz Sp. z o.o company, Leon Szuturma. The event during which the agreement was signed also involved Antoni Macierewicz, Polish Minister of Defence, and President of the Management Board at the Polish Armaments Group, S.A., Błażej Wojnicz.
The contract assumes that Jelcz company, belonging to the Polish Armaments Group, would manufacture and deliver the medium-load high mobility Jelcz 442.32 platforms for the Polish Army in the quantities as follows: in 2017 - 100 examples, with 36 belonging to the guaranteed quantity and 64 that may be procured optionally, and 250 examples (25 guaranteed and 225 - optionally) in the year 2018, with 150 examples to follow in 2019 (36 guaranteed, 114 as an option).
On the basis of the agreement concluded, Jelcz Sp. z o.o company is also going to provide the Polish Army with a logistics package, including a proper number of repair kits, portable diagnostic units, and maintenance bundles. Jelcz shall also deliver a training package, allowing the Polish soldiers to obtain relevant skills related to maintenance, servicing and repairs of the 442.32 platform. The value of the guaranteed procurement has been defined as PLN 81.5 million, meanwhile the option’s value is estimated to exceed PLN 338.5 million. In total, the domestically based manufacturer may be able to earn an income exceeding PLN 420 million, within the process of delivering the medium-load high mobility vehicles. This is the second most valuable agreement, ever to be signed by Jelcz.
The Jelcz 442.32 platforms which are to be acquired by the Polish Armed Forces would also be operated by the newly formed Territorial Defence component of the Polish Army. Antoni Macierewicz, Polish Minister of Defence, who attended the event during which the agreement was signed, stressed the fact that the fifth branch of the Polish Army would be equipped with high quality hardware and armament, manufactured by the Polish companies of the defence sector, consolidated within the Polish Armaments Group. Thanks to the above, the soldiers of the Territorial Defence component would become one of the better-equipped formations of this type, all around the world.
Like few other manufacturers, not only do you manage to do what you did, delivering on time, which is the main problem for the Polish industry, also, unfortunately, the Polish defence industry, but you also create prospects making it possible to expand the orders, and your products are pretty much needed by Poland.
The acquisition of the aforesaid platforms is to allow the Polish Army to continue the procurement of vehicles that would unify the inventory belonging to the fleet. The Armament Inspectorate is willing to replenish the Polish vehicle fleet and complement it with platforms that would have unified design or technical specs sheet, also in comparison to the platforms that are already being used. This will make maintenance and repairs within the fleet much easier.
Up until now, 476 vehicles of this type in a box-shaped load bed variant, as well as 117 specialized bodywork variants, have been received by the Polish Armed Forces, with the latter ones being utilized as a carrier of specialized communications suites and systems that would be used to protect the units of the Polish Army from the NCBR threats. The Agreement signed by and between the Polish Ministry of Defence and the Jelcz company assumes that 910 platforms of this type would be delivered before the year 2018. Jelcz 442 platform was to replace the heavy duty vehicles already operated within the Polish Armed Forces. Star 266/266M platforms, being the most obsolete ones, were to be replaced first. Back in the year 2013, the Army was in possession of 13 thousand vehicles as such.
Jelcz 442.32 is a special purpose 4x4 high mobility platform, tailored to be driven on the hardened surfaces, as well as off-road. The said vehicle has been designed to transport unexpoded ordnance, materials and specialized equipment. The design of the load bed of the Jelcz 442.32 platform, once the mantle, guards and side-boards are removed, makes it possible to set up benches, which would enable the vehicle to transport up to 24 soldiers.