Public orders and contracts in Poland are regulated by the Public Order Law of 29 January 2004. A significant part of the orders realised for the Polish Armed Forces covers armament and military equipment (A&ME), which fall under Art. 296 of the Treaty establishing the European Community and according to Art. 4 p. 3 let. f these do not fall under the Public Order Law. The procedures of granting this specific orders are realised according to the Decision of the Minister of Defence No. 291/MON of 26 July 2006 on principles and procedures of concluding agreements on armament and military equipment by the Ministry of Defence.

Prepared for RAPORT Targowy by DZSZ MON

The above decision, similar to the Public Order Law, outlines both competitive procedures and negotiations with a single supplier (similar to free hand order according to the Public Order Law). This allows to carry out these procedures in a shorter time and allows to purchase a particular type of equipment as required by the army. This leads to quicker equipping of the forces with the necessary equipment, such as a particular type of equipment already proved and approved by soldiers.

As regards the procurements of new A&ME types the Minister of Defence, in order to accelerate and simplify the procedures of acquisition of new A&ME types, has signed on 3 April 2009 the Decision No. 101/MON on introduction of procedure of acquisition of new armament and military equipment, and procedure of acquisition of new armament and military equipment within an urgent operational need that has superseded the Decision No. 157/MON of 26 March 2007 on introduction of intermediate period procedures of procurement of new pattern A&ME in the Ministry of Defence.

The Decision regulates the process of definition of specifications and necessary documents that form the basis, according to which the Orderers start the procedure of delivery of given equipment. The process, compared to the one described in the previous Decision No. 157/MON of 26 March 2007, seems to be more transparent and thus to allow quicker and more effective negotiation and approval of relevant documents. Moreover, in the case of procurements under an urgent operational need it defines maximum deadlines for preparation, negotiation and approval of relevant documents by the institutions participating in the process, which in turn translates into reduced time of the entire procurement procedure. At this stage it is important to stress the important role of the Armament Market Analysis Office. The institution is responsible, among others, for preparing the preliminary specifications (WZTT) and for performing analysis of the possibility to meet the requirements defined by the gestor by the equipment available on the market. The role of the Office is the more important as the reliability and quality of the documents it prepares translates into the effectiveness and timeframe of the equipment delivery procedure carried out by the orderers.

However, it has to be mentioned that the initiative to start the procedure to purchase/acquire new A&ME types still belongs to the gestor of the equipment, who needs to obtain the approval of the Chief of the General Staff.

Principal deliveries realised in 2009

By 28 August 2009 the Department of Supplies of the Polish Armed Forces has realised deliveries and services for a total value of over 1 billion zlotys. The principal ones are listed in the table below.

Subject of order/Delivered

Wheeled armoured personnel carrier (KTP) 28Rotating mount for armament for KTO Rosomak 20

Fitting additional equipment in KTO Rosomak for the Polish contingent in Afghanistan 13

Engineering set for marking of danger zones (IZOSN) 16

Universal protective vest – combat dress for a gunner 1,971

Full cartridges for 152 mm rounds for AHS-77, ST-1 gun fire imitators 745

SW-4 elementary training helicopter 11

Upgrading BM-21 artillery launcher to WR-40 Langusta standard 6

Composite combat helmets Mk 2005 2,600

UST-1 training set for the Grom missile system 5

Night vision goggles for helicopter pilots, PNL-3 type 79

Brom night vision binoculars, PCS-5M night vision device 251

Holographic sights 7,150

NSV-80 attachments 150

MU-3A, MU-3AD, PNL-2A, PNL-2AD night vision goggles 1,022

CWKW Bazalt day/night sight 52

Mi-8, Mi-17 and Mi-24 helicopter upgrade/overhaul 4

Mk 96 Beryl 5.56 mm assault rifles 1,912

MP-5 gas mask and FOO-1 filtering protective dress 3,000

ZUR-23-2KG 23 mm AA artillery-missile sets, 12.7 mm machine guns, 7.62 mm UKM-2000P guns 117

12.7 and 30 mm ammunition 130,775

Small arm ammunition 9,634,359

Medevac vehicles on the chassis of KTO Rosomak (Rosomak WEM) 8

Combat ammunition (60 mm mortar grenades, LZU-3A fuses, 122 mm rounds with HESYT-1 shells, grenades) 14,505

Pluton-1 60 mm mortar grenades with S-LM60 illuminating charge 5,433

RD-33 aero engine overhauls (MiG-29) 8