On February 28, 2024, the Armament Agency of the Ministry of National Defense of Poland signed a framework agreement with the Polish company AMZ-Kutno SA for the supply of 286 advanced wheeled combat reconnaissance vehicles LOTR Kleszcz ("Tick") to the Polish Army in the period 2025-2035. The first executive contract under this agreement is due to be signed this year.
Image of the promising Polish combat reconnaissance vehicle LOTR Kleszcz (c) AMZ-Kutno
LOTR (Lekki Opancerzony Transporter Rozpoznawczy) Kleszcz was developed according to the program of the same name on the basis of an agreement concluded back in December 2013 between the National Center for Research and Development (NCBR) and a consortium of Polish enterprises led by the AMZ-Kutno plant, which also includes the Military Communications Institute, the Military Institute of Weapons Technology and the Military Institute of Chemistry and radiometry. The reconnaissance version of the vehicle was developed on the basis of the previously created AMZ-Kutno Bobr-3 (4x4) armored personnel carrier, the first prototype Kleszcz was presented for testing in 2020. In the Polish army, these vehicles should replace the old BRDM-2.
The Kleszcz (4x4) has a full combat weight of up to 14 tons, has a length of 7 m, a width of 2.5 m and a height of 2.4 m. The car is equipped with a 7.2-liter diesel engine with a capacity of 326 hp and is capable of highway speeds of up to 100 km/h with a range of up to 600 km. The wheel suspension is independent. The car is amphibious, the speed afloat is up to 7 km/ h. The ballistic protection of the STANAG 4659 Level 2 hull (with the possibility of upgrading to Level 3) and mine protection Level 2b has been declared.
The crew of the BRM consists of five people. The machine must be equipped with radar and electron-optical reconnaissance complexes on lifting masts, high-speed data transmission equipment, a passive counteraction complex with smoke interference. The armament will be a remotely controlled combat module (according to a number of reports - Kongsberg Protector) with a 12.7mm WKM-B machine gun and a 7.62mm UKM machine gun.
The signing by the Armament Agency of the Ministry of National Defense of Poland of a framework agreement with the Polish company AMZ-Kutno SA for the supply of 286 advanced wheeled combat reconnaissance vehicles LOTR Kleszcz to the Polish Army, 02/28/2024 (c) the Ministry of National Defense of Poland
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