Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI) and US defense giant Lockheed Martin have reached the final stage of a tender published by the Polish Ministry of National Defense for the procurement of precision rockets. Security experts believe the tender - worth up to half a billion dollars - will be awarded in the summer.
The billion dollar modernization project will include the acquisition of launcher vehicles, command & control systems, and tactical UAVs to gather intelligence within a range of dozens of kilometers. IMI has offered the Polish government the Predator Hawk rockets, with a range of 250 kilometers and the ability to precisely deliver a 200 kilogram warhead to its target with a 10-meter CEP.
IMI also offered the Polish military its EXTRA rocket, with a 120-kilogram warhead and a range of 150 kilometers.
These rockets were developed within the last decade by IMI to answer the demand of Western armies looking for precise, long-range weaponry. The rockets, like other rockets developed in recent years by IMI, can be fired from the same launcher vehicle, the LINX.
Lockheed Martin, for its part, submitted its advanced GMLRS rockets and a variety of its ATACMS rocket - with a range of 300 kilometers - for consideration.
Sources involved in the tender process said Poland intends to invest a billion dollars in establishing an advanced artillery unit numbering 50 launchers. However, it does not wish to procure either the launchers, the C&C systems, or the UAVs from Israel or the US - only the rockets.
The sources noted the company selected at the end of the process will supply Poland with hundreds of precision munitions - worth a total of half a billion dollars - over the next few years. The rockets will be fitted to launcher vehicles manufactured in Poland as well as the local C&C systems.
The company picked will partake in the adaptation, with cooperation of the local industry in Poland. As part of the conditions of the tender, some of the rockets to be supplied will be manufactured in Poland.
As part of its efforts to promote its Polish operations - and given its advances in the rocket tender - IMI will soon establish an office in Warsaw to prepare for future tenders.
IMI precision rockets were sold in recent years to a long line of foreign militaries. In the past year, the IDF began acquiring a different IMI precision rocket, the Romach - with a shorter, 30-kilometer range.
The defense contractor has committed to delivering $4 billion of precision rockets to its clients in the coming years.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 8, 2016
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