Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defence Mariusz Blaszczak has approved a contract for the delivery of Ottokar Brzoza tank destroyers to the Polish Army. “The first prototype units will be ready as early as next year”, he announced.

The tank destroyer will be built by Polish companies gathered in the PGZ-Ottokar consortium comprising, among others: Huta Stalowa Wola, Mesko company and Wojskowe Zakłady Elektroniczne.

The new weapon will be armed with Brimstone anti-tank guided missiles produced by the British branch of the MBDA missile company. The Ministry of Defence wants the missiles to be manufactured in Poland in the future.

According to the Ministry of National Defence, the primary task of the Ottokar Brzoza tank destroyers will be to destroy armoured targets using anti-tank guided missiles, in all weather conditions, both day and night.

In addition to the tank destroyers and accompanying vehicles, the modules will include anti-tank guided missiles and training and logistics packages. It is planned that all vehicles will be based on solutions supplied by the Polish industry. Brimstone anti-tank guided missiles are planned to be used as the system’s effector, the Ministry of Defence said.

Minister Mariusz Błaszczak announced that the first prototypes of the tank destroyers will be ready next year and will be delivered to the 14th Anti-Tank Regiment based in Suwałki in the Suwałki Isthmus region.

“Our assumption is to saturate the Polish Army with such units. There will be anti-tank regiments in each division”, said the Defence Minister.

According to the assumptions, there will be eight tank destroyers in one battery, each of which will be able to fire eight Brimstone missiles with a range of 12 km at a time.

Adrian Andrzejewski