Poland, Slovakia team up for ammunition, weapon purchases

WARSAW, Poland — Poland and Slovakia have signed a letter of intent to jointly produce ammunition and cooperate on the procurement of armored vehicles, tank, and air defense weapons.

Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, Polish deputy prime minister and defense minister, and his Slovak counterpart, Robert Kaliňák, inked an agreement that effect during a meeting in Warsaw on Monday.

Under the first initiative covered by the document, Poland is to benefit from Slovakia’s know-how and technology for 155-millimeter artillery shell manufacturing. In late 2024, Warsaw decided to set up new fund of around PLN 3 billion ($759 million) to support investments by domestic and foreign players in ramping up the country’s ammunition manufacturing capacities, with a focus on 155 mm rounds.

The second project concerns joint production of an armored fighting vehicle based on the eight-wheel-drive Rosomak, which is made by Poland’s state-run defense group PGZ under a license from Finland’s Patria. The envisioned new vehicle is to be fitted with the Turra 30 remote controlled turret developed by Slovak company EVPÚ.

The third initiative relates to Poland’s offer to supply K2 Black Panther tanks, to be produced domestically under a license from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem, to Slovakia. In July 2022, the Polish ministry signed a framework deal to acquire up to 1,000 K2s. Of those, 180 tanks to be made in South Korea are already on order, with an additional 820 vehicles in the K2PL variant possibly made by the Polish defense industry.

Slovakia is pursuing plans to acquire up to 104 new tanks. Last month, Kaliňák said the CV90120, a light tracked vehicle made by BAE Systems Hägglunds, is one of the considered options. Other vehicles considered by Bratislava are said to comprise new Leopard 2A8 tanks from Germany’s KNDS or used 2A4s, an older Leopard variant that would be upgraded by the Slovak defense industry.

The fourth project relates to Slovakia’s interest in purchasing the Piorun (Thunderbolt), a man-portable air defense weapon made by PGZ. The Ukrainian military’s extensive use of the weapon against Russian invaders has spurred the weapon’s exports to various European nations, but also to countries such as the United States, Japan, and Indonesia, according to its manufacturer.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰和斯洛伐克签署了一份意向书，将联合生产弹药，并在采购装甲车、坦克和防空武器方面开展合作。

波兰副总理兼国防部长瓦迪斯瓦夫·科西尼亚克-卡梅什和斯洛伐克国防部长罗伯特·卡利尼亚克周一在华沙会晤期间签署了一项协议。

根据该文件涵盖的第一项举措，波兰将受益于斯洛伐克在155毫米炮弹制造方面的专业知识和技术。2024年底，华沙决定设立一项规模约为30亿兹罗提（约合7.59亿美元）的新基金，以支持国内外企业投资提升波兰的弹药制造能力，重点是155毫米炮弹。

第二个项目是联合生产一款基于波兰国营国防集团PGZ根据芬兰Patria公司许可证生产的八轮驱动Rosomak装甲战车。设想中的新型战车将配备由斯洛伐克EVPÚ公司开发的Turra 30遥控炮塔。

第三项举措是波兰向斯洛伐克提供K2“黑豹”坦克，该坦克将根据韩国现代Rotem公司的许可在波兰国内生产。2022年7月，波兰国防部签署了一项框架协议，拟采购至多1000辆K2坦克。其中，180辆将在韩国生产的坦克已下单，另有820辆K2PL型坦克可能由波兰国防工业生产。

斯洛伐克正计划采购多达104辆新型坦克。上个月，卡利尼亚克表示，由BAE系统公司哈格隆德分部生产的CV90120轻型履带式坦克是备选方案之一。据称，布拉迪斯拉发方面考虑的其他方案包括德国KNDS公司生产的新型豹2A8坦克，或由斯洛伐克国防工业升级改造的旧款豹2A4坦克。

第四个项目与斯洛伐克有意购买由PGZ公司生产的便携式防空武器“皮奥伦”（Piorun，意为“雷霆”）有关。据制造商称，乌克兰军队广泛使用该武器对抗俄罗斯入侵者，促使该武器出口到欧洲各国，以及美国、日本和印度尼西亚等国。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。