The Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) and integrator ZM Bumar-Labedy to unveil its upgraded Leopard 2PL main battle tank at 24th International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO 2016.

The Leopard 2PL main battle official roll-out will be at MSPO 2016 in Kielce on 6 September. According to open sources, Poland plans to order 128 upgraded Leopard 2PL main battle tanks.

Poland’s ZM Bumar-Labedy signed a EUR130 million (USD144 million) ‘strategic co-operation’ agreement for main battle tank (MBT) upgrades with Rheinmetall Landysysteme (RLS) on 18 February. 128 tanks covered by the contract are expected to go through the upgrade process until the year 2020.

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The main areas in the modernization programme of the Leopard 2A4 tanks, the aim of which is to upgrade them to the Leopard 2PL standard shall include the following:

Improving the ballistic resistance of the turret;

Replacement of the hydraulic cannon stabilization mechanisms and the turret drives with their electric counterparts;

Modernization of the targeting and observation systems used by the gunner and the commander;

Increase of the firepower, allowing the crew to utilize new varieties and types of ammunition, meaning that the cannon will also have to be upgraded;

General improvement of the crew’s safety;

Installation of an auxiliary power unit.

Within the scope of the aforementioned modernization works, numerous components are going to be provided by the Polish industry. Rheinmetall will integrate these elements with the systems used by the company in the Leopard 2A4 modernization programme.