Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, reported this Saturday that the Ukrainian Army had acquired 100 Polish KTO Rosomak armored vehicles. The Polish “premier” assured that the Ukrainian order would be financed with funds from the EU and the United States. Of course, Morawiecki did not provide the global cost of the contract or give more details about it.
Morawiecki has confirmed that the consignment will consist 100 units of the KTO Rosomak wheeled armored personnel carrier (“Wolverine”) that will be paid for “with European money” and American given to the Government of Kyiv as aid.
The Ukrainian order has been signed by the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denis Shmihaland was received last Friday.
The interesting thing about the KTO Rosomak wheeled armored vehicle (Kolowy Transporter Opancerzony Rosomak) known as “Wolverine”, is that it is manufactured in Poland as a licensed variant of the Finnish Patria AMV vehicle. It is one of the largest and best protected 8×8 armored personnel carriers. The Rosomak weighs between 16 and 26 tons, depending on armor and weapon systems. The basic version has a crew of two and carries 10 military personnel.
Morawiecki announced this Saturday in Siemianowice that he had received from the Government of Ukraine an order for the supply of a hundred armored vehicles for use in the war against Russia. Precisely, the hundred “Wolverines” will be manufactured in this Polish city, at the Rosomak SA plant, which manufactures the vehicles. “Today is a great day for this city, for the Silesian region and for Poland,” he said in statements collected by the official Polish news agency PAP.
“It is important that we realize that arms production in Poland is picking up pace, so we have been able to secure these additional contracts“, the “premier” puffed out his chest, who also anticipated new orders from Slovenia and, perhaps, from Saudi Arabia, to the point that the general production of armored vehicles could double to 200 units per year.
According to the specialized website GlobalSecurity, the KTO Rosomak (Kolowy Transporter Opancerzony Rosomak) was designed by the Finnish company Patria Vehicles Oy under the name AMV (Armored Modular Vehicle). In December 2002 the design was selected by Poland in the tender for armored vehicles of troop transport on wheels. Back then, the production of 690 vehicles was commissioned at the Siemianowice Slaskie Military Mechanical Factory.
In Military Today give more details about eset armored vehicle. On the one hand, they explain that the Rosomak has served in the Polish Army during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in the peacekeeping missions in Chad and the Central African Republic. In these international deployments the “Wolverine” demonstrated its effectiveness. What’s more, on the web they highlight that the US troops assure that the Polish Rosomak is superior, in all aspects, to their Stryker.
They also underline the modular ballistic protection that their equipment has. In addition, armor consists of interchangeable modules of various thicknesses and can be tailored to mission requirements. Heavy armor is removed in peacetime and for transport. However, it is reset once the vehicle reaches the theater of combat.
Regarding protection, the maximum level of protection is against 30mm armor-piercing projectiles. The Rosomak also has first-class anti-mine protection. It can withstand an explosion of up to 10 kg of TNT.
In the web Military Todayremember that the Rosomaks of the Polish Army were hit in Afghanistan by landmines and improvised explosive devices on many occasions, and in most cases, there were no casualties. They narrate how two armored vehicles of the Polish Army were hit in Afghanistan by RPG-7 rockets, although the armor was not penetrated and the vehicles managed to return to base. Other sources report that there were more cases of Rosomaks that survived RPG-7 hits. Cage type armor can be installed to increase the level of protection against RPG-7 rockets. The Rosomaks have CBRN protection and fire extinguishing systems as standard.
It has a armored roof mount for a 12.7mm machine gun or 40mm automatic grenade launcher. They also stress that the IFV IFV version is equipped with an Italian OTO Melara Hitfist-30P turret. This turret is operated by the commander and the gunner. She is armed with a cannon 30mm Bushmaster II and a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun. This version has a crew of three and carries eight soldiers.
They even point out that there are other versions of the Rosomak, which are armed with remote-controlled 12.7mm machine guns, or do not carry any weapons at all.
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