Arie Egozi/TEL AVIV Andrew Doyle/MUNICH
Poland has backed out of its $800 million agreement with an Israeli consortium to supply anti-tank missiles and integrated avionics for the PZL-Swidnik Huzar battlefield helicopter.
A revised request for proposals (RFP) is expected to be issued early next year, with Warsaw hoping to make a new selection by March, say sources close to the programme.
Poland's decision to annul its October 1997 deal with the Elbit-led consortium was expected after it became clear that the Israelis would not be able to meet Warsaw's demanding in-country missile test requirements.
The government had insisted that test launches of the Rafael NT-D anti-tank missile should be completed on Polish soil by the end of last month. But Rafael told Polish defence officials in mid-October that no such test firings would be possible until mid-1999. The weapon has already been test fired for the Poles in a series of demonstrations in Israel.
The consortium of three Israeli companies was chosen to upgrade 100 W-3 Sokols to the Huzar combat configuration using an Elbit-designed avionics suite and the NT-D missile. El-Op would have supplied night vision systems.
The agreement was signed last year by an interim Polish Government just days before a general election brought in a new administration, whose opposition to the agreement has since grown.
Israel has reacted angrily to the move and may take legal action. The defence ministry says it is "-studying the proper legal and political ways to react".
Ilan Biran, director-general of the Israeli Ministry of Defence, says Warsaw had no reason to back out of the agreement. He claims that, under the original October 1997 agreement, a test firing of the NT-D on Polish soil should have been performed within 18 months of the signing of a commercial deal between the Israeli consortium and the Polish companies.
"The commercial agreements were not signed and therefore we were amazed to hear the Polish decision," says Biran. "In our view the agreement is still valid."
The three Israeli companies refused to comment officially, saying the deal was an inter-governmental agreement.
Boeing will re-bid for the Huzar contract, offering its Hellfire 2 missile and the Marconi Brimstone version of Hellfire being developed for the British Army's AH-64helicopter. UK-based Marconi is also responsible for the defensive aids suite and the electronic warfare equipment in the US bid.
The US company's consortium includes Saab Dynamics of Sweden, which will provide the optical target tracking system, and France's GIAT, which will supply the gun.
Euromissile is likely to put in a rival bid based on its HOT 3 missile. It is not yet clear whether the Israelis will be invited to re-tender, or whether they will respond.
Source: Flight International
