Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1086092
Anti-tank defense in Poland – what is it like? And what about the Polish Armed Forces compared to what has been presented above? As usual, it's hard to tell if we're dealing with a tragicomedy or an ordinary farce. The Polish Air Forces do not have any standoff weapons designed for combating armored vehicles. The purchased JSOWs do a great job when dealing with command centers, hangars, and critical infrastructure, but using them to fight tanks is pointless from an economical point of view. Right now, we don't have any heavy ATGMs for the ageing Mi-24s, but it may be, in fact, a good thing because the Homar program has not become a reality yet. So, we've got nothing to fight anti-aircraft defense systems to let our helicopters at least approach the enemy. It would be a one-time performance even for Mi-24s. The capacity of our artillery looks a bit better, but there are still many instances of inconsistency and neglect dating back to many decades ago. The WR-40 Langusta MLRS comes with the Feniks rocket family, including the excellent DPICM (GKO-1), but on account of the horrible deal made with the French (who provide us with the engine fuel), the volume of the rockets produced has been minimum so far. Also, the firing accuracy at extreme ranges has appeared to be unacceptable for many reasons. However, our armed forces do have some means at their disposal. For the time being, there is no DPICM ammunition for Krabs – which is a pity as it is inexpensive and effective. But there is no word of any plans of purchasing it either. We don't have precision munition either (the plan to 'Polonize' the Krasnopol and purchase "something of Excalibur class" is not an option) because the reflected-laser-beam-guided (i.e. using a laser designator) HE missile is surely no such solution. First, most modern tanks feature beam detectors, and second, fighting tanks using such type of munition is an emergency option. The plans to buy "auto-tar- geting" ammo remain still plans. What we do have at our disposal is some quantity of 120 mm DCIM ammunition (Hesyt-1). The brigade-level anti-tank defenses are in an appalling condition. What's worse, it's not only about their quantity but also about their quality. The Rosomak brigades have only 18 Spike ATGM launch- ers and nothing more. Apart from the 116 ancient Malyutka ATGM systems used with BWP-1s, the mechanized brigades are to receive 9 to 18 Spike ATGMs. For comparison – the American ABCT brigades have 87 Javelins and as many as 122 TOW-2A and 2B ATGM systems on their vehicles in twin launchers. This makes a total of 209 ATGM launchers at their disposal. The lighter, wheeled SBTCs have 117 Javelins ATGM launchers and 9 self-propelled TOW M1134 ATGMs, not counting the supporting 27 Stryker MGSs with 105 mm guns. This www.fragoutmag.com