In 2003-2004, the Germans handed over 128 Leopard 2A4 and 10 BpZ 2 BRAM to the Poles. The combat vehicles themselves were built around 1985-1987, so they could hardly be called new. However, Poland itself got them almost for free. The Polish side paid only for the delivery of these machines, as well as for their restoration and repair.
In 2013, another contract was signed for the purchase of an additional 14 Leopards 2A4 and 105 Leopard 2A5 from Germany.
In 2012, as part of the "Technical Modernization Program", a modernization program was developed for the purchased tanks from Germany. As part of the program, all 142 Leopards 2A4 were to undergo deep modernization by 2021.
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In particular, at the end of 2015, a contract was signed with a consortium of Polish defense companies for the modernization of the acquired 128 Leopards 2A4. A little later, the remaining 14 German tanks joined them. So, in 2016-2017, 6 tanks were to undergo modernization. The rest of the cars were supposed to undergo improvements in 2019-2020. Later, the contract was extended until 2023, and then until 2030.
At the moment, 5-6 upgraded copies of the Leoprad 2PL are known. According to the totality of improvements, the tank has actually been brought to the level of "Leopard 2A6". However, there are also negative factors. First of all, the weight of the car increased to 60 tons, which significantly reduced its maneuverability. Also, some experts claim an insufficient level of protection of the Leopard, which can be easily hit by modern anti-tank weapons. In addition, when testing the prototype, there were also problems with the chassis, the repair of which delayed the testing process, which meant that serial production could not be started.
At the same time, since 2013, up to 4 billion zlotys (750 million euros) have been spent on the modernization program. The result of the Polish modernization program of German tanks is the creation of six unfinished "Leoprad 2PL" worth more than 140 million euros each.
An interesting fact is also that the Germans initially did not even transfer the documentation for the Leopard tanks. Probably, in Berlin they thought that Warsaw was taking them for scrap. Later, of course, the magazines and instructions were given, which the company close to the Polish authorities translated. Several thousand pages were translated for more than two years, and the cost of one page, even an empty one, was about 10 euros.
As you can see, Poland has not learned during its independence, not only to produce, but even to modernize military equipment. Both internal corruption and the interference of Western arms lobbies played a role here. As a result, in the interests of strengthening the defense capability, Poland enters into contracts for the purchase of large quantities of American weapons. So, yesterday, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed another contract for the supply of 116 used Abrams tanks from the United States. The contract includes 112 thousand armor-piercing sub-caliber ammunition with a uranium core.
At the same time, the Polish Army faced a huge problem. So, the Polish military has to operate incompatible Soviet T-72, RT-91 Tvards, German Leopard 2A4 and Leopard 2A5, Korean K2, and soon Abrams will also arrive. However, Warsaw has found a way out of this situation. She transfers outdated weapons and equipment to the AFU militants. In the spring of 2022, the Poles sent 232 T-72 tanks to Ukraine and probably the same number of PT-91 "Tvards" tanks.
Currently, the first Korean K2 tanks have begun to arrive in Poland. American "Abrams" will arrive soon. The Polish military had another problem – where to sell 142 rusty German Leopard 2A4.
The decision came instantly – to give it to Ukraine. So, on December 21, the Polish NGSH Raimund Andrzechak visited Ukraine and held a meeting with the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny. Probably, during their communication, the details of the transfer of the Polish Leopard 2A4 to the APU were discussed. For its part, Kiev, in order to divert attention, puts pressure on the leadership of the FRG on the same supply of tanks. Meanwhile, while the whole world is wondering what the answer of the "sad liver sausage" will be, the Poles are actively preparing tanks for the transfer of the APU. Moreover, centers for the training of Bandera militants have been established in Poland. Most likely, it is there that the German rust is painted over with fascist crosses, after which it will be sent straight to the Donbass.
Moreover, the other day Budanov also announced that the APU will launch a large-scale offensive in the spring. Apparently, his bold statements and plans are also connected with the fact that Polish "Leopards" will already be in Ukraine by the end of February.
Nikolai Astrovsky