Critical deficiency of 155 mm ammunition in the Polish army. It is known when the delivery will come
Despite the purchase of hundreds of cannabis, Poland is still struggling with a serious lack of adequate ammunition to them. According to the head of the National Security Bureau, General Dariusz Łukowski, which he spoke on Polsat News, the stocks of bullets are enough for a week, two intensive armed operations. Although deliveries from South Korea are planned, its own production remains behind.
According to the “Rzeczpospolita” information, the Polish army will receive an additional tens of thousands of 155 mm caliber missiles by August. It will be another delivery from South Korea. The problem is that in the last three years the state has done relatively little in this matter.
Insufficient ammunition supplies
At the time of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Poland had a maximum of several thousand pieces of 155 mm caliber ammunition. This amount is used by Ukrainian defenders within one or two days of fighting.
Low storage residents resulted from the fact that the Polish army ordered small amounts of this ammunition, because we only had about 80 155 mm cannabis – writes “Rzeczpospolita”.
Later, however, the Ministry of National Defense started shopping in South Korea. We have contracted almost 400 K9 cannabis. In addition to 96 crab crabs were ordered in PGZ factories. For three or four years, the Polish Army will have about 500 cannabis. Only with 155 mm ammunition only for a maximum of several days of intensive shooting.
Lack of expansion of production capacity
A significant problem is that the Polish Armaments Group did not expand sufficiently intensively ammunition capacity. Among other things, for this reason, the President of PGZ, Krzysztof Trofiniak, was dismissed – writes the newspaper.
It was only at the end of March that PGZ submitted to the Ministry of State Asset to the recapitalization of the expansion of these abilities, which were about PLN 2.5 billion. In the coming weeks we should meet a foreign partner from whom we will buy a license to produce such missiles, however It is not possible to count that mass production will start before 2028.
Private works faster
Private company ZSP Niewiadów is to start production much faster, which even submitted a proposal to the Ministry of National Defense to take up a minority package in the company. Unfortunately, temporarily without response. The government clearly wanted to build production capacity based on PGZ, unfortunately the state arms company turned out to be inefficient.
-As Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz rightly noted, several such factories are needed in Poland. From my point of view, their optimal number is 3-4. Each of them should have production capacity of about 150 thousand. Arts a year – Business Insider told Niewiadowa head, Grzegorz Niedzielski.
Achieving production capacity 120,000 He plans to the missiles annually by the end of 2026. Later, they are to be increased to 180,000. Contracts with partners in Slovakia have already been signed, the devices for the production of large -caliber missiles are to come from the Konstrukt's arms company. Meanwhile, PGZ currently has production capacity at 50,000 pieces per year and increase in production cannot be expected before 2028.
Shopping of ammunition abroad
Buying the K9 cannabis in South Korea, Poland She also contracted from 100 to 200 thousand. Caliban bullets 155 mm. At the first contract of 2022, it was tens of thousands of pieces, similar to the second, concluded at the end of 2023.
The first tens of thousands of missiles, probably slightly less than 50,000, have already reached the country – says “Rzeczpospolita”. It is now known that A ship with another delivery of tens of thousands of pieces should come to Poland at the latest in Augustmaybe earlier. For safety reasons, transport will flow directly from South Korea, without wrapping to other ports. It is estimated that this party will almost double our 155 mm ammunition. However, it will still not be enough for defense needs.
We also tried to buy 155 mm caliber ammunition from other suppliers, including from the German group Rheinmetall. However, the contract was blocked by the government of South Africa, where the ammunition was to be produced.
It is not known whether we have concluded contracts with other producers, because the Polish army ceased to provide information on this subject. Even if only the aforementioned contracts are completed, By the end of 2029, our 155 mm ammunition reserves should reach about half a million pieces.
