Poland orders Ottokar-Brzoza tank destroyer production

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak on 20 July approved a framework agreement on the production of Ottokar-Brzoza tank destroyers for the Polish army. (Polish MND)

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak announced on 20 July that he had approved a framework agreement on the production of Ottokar-Brzoza tank destroyers for the Polish army. He said the first tank destroyers would go to the 14th Anti-Tank Regiment in Suwałki, close to the gap of the same name that NATO fears could be used by Russia to cut the Baltic states off from the rest of the alliance.

Błaszczak expected the first prototypes to be delivered in 2023, with testing to be conducted by military units. Poland's intention is for the first batteries to be operational within the next three years, according to Błaszczak, who thought the timeline could be even shorter.

The Polish Armaments Agency (AA) said on its website on 20 July that the initial operational capability of the first tank destroyer module is expected no later than 2025.

The AA will procure tank destroyer battery fire modules from the PGZ-Ottokar consortium, led by Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa and including Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW), Mesko, and Wojskowe Zakłady Elektroniczne. Each battery will be equipped with eight tank destroyers armed with Brimstone missiles with a range of 12 km that can be used against targets in all-weather conditions during the day and at night. Błaszczak signed the agreement at a table that had an image of an HSW/Tatra 4×4 vehicle with a launcher for 12 Brimstones on the front and to the backdrop of Polish and NATO flags and another image of the tank destroyer.