Poland will order this year for several billions U

Poland will choose by the end of the year its providers of large military equipment, of a value estimated at several billion USD, announced Thursday the Polish vice-minister of Defense Janusz Zemke.
Warsaw must in particular close this year the invitations to tender on 48 new fighters multi-roles, a thousand of APC, 270 missile launchers, thousands of anti-tank missiles and equipment of telecommunication.
“It is an exceptional year for the Polish army”, declared M. Zemke during a press conference. According to him, the purchase of this equipment will lead to a “true technological revolution”.
The contract for the fighter, estimated at 3,5 billion USD, is the subject of an international invitation to tender. Three competitors are in competition : the American government and the group Lockheed Martin with F-16C/D, BAE Systems-SAAB with JAS-39 Gripen, and French Dassault Aviation who proposes Mirage 2000-5.
The last turn of the legal, financial and technical negotiations began Thursday and must finish on June 8. The government must then present the final version of the order and the participants will have
three months to present their final offers. Poland will announce its
choice later 45 days.
Three international consortia, grouped around Polish producers OBRUM, HSV and WZM, are trying to sell in Poland a thousand of APC. They are respectively projects PANDUR II (Steyer, Delco, Alenia), PIRANIA IIIC (Delco, Otobreda, Rheinmetall Landsysteme) and AMV (Delco, Otobreda).
The first 600 APC, including 400 for combat and 200 for logistical support , should be provided to the Polish army by the end 2008. “The acquisition of these APC will make it possible Poland to lay out from here at the end of 2008 of 10 mobile battalions compared with only two in this moment “, Mr. Zemke raised.
Four groups deposited their offers for 90 missile launchers and 400
missiles of range of more than 4.000 meters, and four others take part
in the invitation to tender for 180 missile launchers and “a few thousands” of missiles of range of less than 4.000 meters.
The missiles of long range are: INGWE of the South-African DENEL/KENTRON, 9K113K of Russian Rosoboronexport, NT-D of the Rafael Israeli and HOT-3 of EADS/Euromissile.
The missiles of short range are: PUMA of the South-African DENEL/KENTRON, SPIKE of the Rafael Israeli, Milan-3 of EADS/Euromissile and Bill-2 of Saab Dynamics.
Poland wishes that the production of this equipment be entrusted to Polish manufacturers.
The value of the invitation to tender for the systems of telecommunication is estimated at nearly 200 million zlotys. The list of 14 participants was to be announced later on Thursday.
Poland wishes to profit, within the framework of all these invitations to tender, of a command and investment plan (offset) whose value would be at least equal to that of the contract. Half of these investments will have to be realized in the Polish industry of armament.