Polish Police Acquires New Pistols

Final offer placing deadline expires on 28^th April this year. We already know that the bid is to be conducted electronically. The deliveries are to be realized until 30^th November 2015. The offers will be selected by the Police on the basis of the weighted criteria of price (weight of 80%) and guarantee related to the pistol and the magazines (weight of 20%).

What is it that the Police wants to buy?

Police wants to acquire 3000 bundles of personal weapons, with each bundle consisting of at least a pistol, two magazines, cleaning and maintenance sets (at least a brush and a pull-through), instruction manual for use and maintenance, warranty card and a plastic carrying case.

The delivered weapon is to be a semi-automatic pistol, operating on the basis of the short recoil principle. The slide is to be locked by the barrel vertically, by a top protrusion in the back part of the barrel, acting as a bolt. Casing extraction hole is to be used as the limiting element.” Three trigger mechanisms could be potentially applied:

• SA/DA (Single Action/ Double Action);
• DAO (Double Action Only);
• Semi-DAO.

According to the specification of terms of reference:

• the pistol, without the magazine, is not to weigh more than 720 grams;
• total length of the weapon shall not exceed 200 mm;
• total width of the pistol shall not exceed 37 mm;
• total height of the pistol (without the magazine) shall not be higher than 140 mm;
• length of the barrel shall not be smaller than 90 mm. 

External surface of the side back part of the slide should be shaped in a way that would make it easier for the shooter to reload the weapon. The trigger guard should make it possible to hold the pistol with both hands. Magazine lock and the slide release should be easily accessible, cleaning and maintenance should not require additional tools.

Double-row magazine should hold at least 15 rounds, the inner structure should be bright, which would make it easier to assess the number of rounds inside the magazine. However, the colour of that structure is not to be blue. 

What pistol and what for?

The Polish Police would like to acquire individual weapons for the policemen for self-defence purposes. Weapons are also to be used to inflict pressure on the suspects. It has been then assumed that the pistol is to be resistant to mechanical, weather and environmental factors present during the service. Lifetime of the crucial elements of the gun shall not be shorter than 10000 shots.

The pistol is to be marked, at least the skeleton and the barrel need to have relevant markings. The external surface is to be mat black or dark graphite. Sights are to be fixed, open, made out of metal in the same colour as the gun. They ought to have proper markings that would make the aiming easier. The gun frame is also to feature the standard Picatinny MIL-STD-1913 rail (for application of additional accessories, such as a laser sight or a tactical flash-light). It should also be possible to attach a lanyard to the lower part of the weapon.

The grip needs to be comfortable and reliable. The whole structure shall not have any rough edges and it should be easy to take the gun out of the holster. There should be no chance of the pistol getting entangled in the clothing or individual equipment (including the tactical or the bulletproof vest).

When it comes to safety of use, the Police requires the pistol to be safe to carry with the bullet loaded in the barrel. The pistol shall also feature an indicator which would provide information regarding the bullet’s presence in the chamber. Protection from premature or accidental shots should also be provided. In the former case – when the bullet is not locked in the chamber, in the latter case, when the pistol falls onto a hard surface from height of up to 2m. The protections should be unlocked automatically, when the trigger