The Armaments Agency has signed a contract to supply the Polish Army with 24 P-18PL radiolocation sets. “The contract totals PLN 3.1 billion and is to be completed by 2035”, informed Deputy Minister of Defence Paweł Bejda

“A significant order for the Polish armaments industry! Today, the Armaments Agency concluded an important contract for the delivery of Polish P-18PL radiolocation stations. Thanks to this agreement, Polish anti-aircraft defence will receive modern equipment allowing the detection of threats at very long distances”, the deputy minister of defence wrote on Twitter.

The agreement concerns the delivery and service of 24 radiolocation sets. It will be realised in the years 2023-2035 and is worth more than PLN 3.1 billion. It includes the supply of 24 P-18PL radiolocation stations together with a training package and a technical assistance service as part of the logistics package.

The P-18PL consists of a set of three elements: the WA-18 antenna carriage, the JZ-18T power unit and the WW-18 indicator carriage. The radar can cooperate with all Air Force command and air defence systems used in the Polish Army.

Ultimately, the P-18PL will co-operate with the Integrated Air and Missile Defence Battle Command System (IBCS) for short-range air defence missile sets, code-named NAREW, and with medium-range air defence sets, as part of the second stage of the WISŁA programme.

The main task of the radar is the early detection of the threat of air attack, the determination of the direction of the attack/flight, the type of threat (classification of the means of attack). The detected threats allow the fire control radar to indicate targets. The radar operates in the metre-wave range, which distinguishes it from other Western designs, which mostly operate in the microwave band.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński