150 “High Power” Sniper Rifles for the Army. Polish Ministry of Defence Responds

The Armament Inspectorate announced that it has selected the offer within the procurement procedure related to acquisition of .338 sniper rifles with optics and .338LM high power ammunition. The tender in question has lasted for almost a year. The tender involved two bidders, and the best offer, according to the Inspectorate, has been submitted by the IBCOL Polska Sp. z o.o company.

The offer has been selected on the basis of the following criteria:

• Price – weight of 55

• Technical and operational parameters of the rifle – weight of 15,

• Technical parameters of the night-vision attachment – weight of 15,

• Technical parameters of the thermal-vision attachment – weight of 15,

IBCOL company is only an intermediary party, which means that rifles and ammunition are both going to be imported. According to the statement sent to us by the Polish Ministry of Defence, the Polish Armed Forces are bound to acquire the SAKO TRG M10 rifles, manufactured by the SAKO Ltd. company. The procurement procedure also involved a consortium, comprising of the following entities: ZM Tarnów and IMS-Griffin. Nonetheless, the latter offer has been rejected.

The product offered by the Polish company did not meet the requirements defined by the initial tactical and technical assumptions.

The Tarnów-based company has developed the Alex-338 8.6 mm rifles, which has been done on the basis of the expertise gathered during the development works related to the 7.62 mm Bor and 12.7 mm Tor weapons systems. However, according to the Polish Ministry of Defence, the Polish offer did not meet the initial tactical and technical assumptions.

According to the tender specification, IBCOL company is to deliver 150 packages of .338 Lapua Magnum repeating sniper rifles, along with a scope system, including the daytime sight, as well as night- and thermal-vision attachments. Moreover, the Army, within the framework of the tender, will receive 50 thousand rounds of 8.6×70 mm (.338 Lapua Magnum) high power ammunition. The contract value is defined as PLN 32 million. Polish Armed Forces already utilizes and has SAKO rifles at their disposal, including the TRG-22 rifles.

According to the terms of reference, the rifle to be acquired shall make it possible for the user to:

• Act against enemy personnel protected by ballistic covers, at distances of at least 1 200 meters; 
• Act against (destroy) light armoured vehicles, with the use of the special purpose rounds, at distance of at least 1 200 meters; 
• Conduct sniper training with the use of the .338 rifles, in a system with replaceable 7.62 mm barrel compatible with the .308 Win. rounds

Moreover the optics should make it possible, in a variety of visibility conditions, at night and during the day, and in a variety of weather conditions, to:

• Detect the target (silhouette of a standing person) at distance of at least: 2 thousand meters with the use of solely the optics; 1.5 thousand meters with the use of the scope with thermal vision extension attached; 1.2 thousand meters with the use of the scope with night vision extension attached;
• Recognize the target (silhouette of a standing person) at distance of at least 1 500 meters with the use of the optical sight; 500 meters with the use of the scope and the thermal vision sight; 400 meters with the use of the scope and the night vision sight.
• Identify the target (silhouette of a standing person) at distance of at least: 1200 meters with the use of solely the optics; 250 meters with the use of the scope and the thermal vision sight; 200 meters with the use of the scope and the night vision sight.