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Opal light tracked chassis

In 1972, the Industrial Works Huta Stalowa Wola was created, with the simultaneous awarding of the status of a chief unit in the HSW Works. Since the implementation of the license for a lightweight multi-purpose armored MTLB crawler tractor and the launch of its serial production in 1976. SPG-2 is a universal tracked armored floating combat vehicle manufactured by Huta Stalowa Wola, also known in the literature as Opal. The abbreviation stood for the high-speed crawler undercarriage of the second model. SPG-2 is a Polish direct extension of the Soviet MT-LB transporter, produced under license by HSW since 1976. The main changes are the rebuilt hull in the front part and the addition of propellers to increase the speed in the water, and the replacement of the old turret with PKT for a new one, armed with NSWT. The transporter is the basis for many specialized vehicles. There are two versions of the chassis-base: SPG-2, which is the equivalent of MT-LB, and SPG-2A, which is an elongated version with seven load wheels, corresponding to the 2S1 Gozdzik and MT-LBu chassis, and the strengthened SW680T engine with 300 HP (220 kW)).

By 1990 it had been exported to the USSR in a total quantity of approximately 6,500 units. After 1980, many vehicles based on its construction were created in HSW: the multi-purpose crawler transporter Piast, the automatic command vehicle of the air defense Lowcza, the medical evacuation vehicle Lotos, the engineering transporter Durian. Like many others, they did not reach the production phase, but were an invaluable knowledge capital for the future projects.

On the base of the MTLB modification, two variants of the amphibious Opal chassis were created. These, in turn, were used in subsequent constructions: engineering reconnaissance transporters Hors, technical emergency vehicles Mors, erratic minelaying transport vehicles Kroton, artillery command vehicles. At the same time, HSW obtained licensing documentation for the 122mm self-propelled howitzer Gozdzik (1976) and began serial production, which lasted from 1984 to 1991. The export amounted to about 73 items sold to the USSR. A total of 529 pieces were produced for the needs of the Polish army. It was the last product in the HSW based on the Soviet license, and at the same time an important step for the Polish Army to replace towed howitzers with self-propelled artillery.

The period between 1991 and 1997 was the time of deep restructuring of HSW and the search for a way to restructure the Polish armaments industry, decision-making time of "suspension" in defense-related projects. In the period following the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact (after the 1st of July 1991), and before joining NATO (12 March 1999), matters related to armaments of the army were not treated as a priority. Many of the product proposals presented in this period by HSW for various reasons were not accepted, however, the experience pool developed in this way proved to be invaluable. The project of a hybrid rocket-artillery anti-aircraft set Stalagmit / Sopel, brought to the prototype stage, among others, was important in this aspect. Noteworthy is the fact of independently building and modifying existing structures, as well as the ability to integrate own solutions with products of other contractors or to act as a leader coordinating complex projects for defense and security. At the end of the 1970s, the Research and Development Center for Earth and Transport Machines at HSW developed an improved SPG-2 vehicle (high-speed tracked chassis 2) based on the MT-LB license, which focused on improving the buoyancy of the transporter. The vehicle received a rebuilt hull with a greater displacement. The differences are mainly visible in the differently profiled, wider and raised nose of the fuselage, as well as the angled side walls of the steering compartment, instead of the flat ones. Moreover, it was equipped with two hydraulic propellers in characteristic openwork covers in the rear part of the hull. The original MTLB was moved in the water by rewinding the tracks, for which it was necessary to mount the side hydrodynamic guards in their front part. The modification allowed to increase the speed of movement in water.

The TRI Hors engineering reconnaissance transporter , produced since 1983, was constructed on the SPG-2 chassis. From 1985/86, instead of the original engine of the Soviet design, a more powerful engine produced in Poland, the SW 680 was used. From 1986, the WPT Mors II technical ambulance vehicle was also produced on this chassis (the earlier Mors version was based on the MT-LB chassis). The armament was reinforced in both vehicles by replacing the turret on the right side with the 7.62 mm PKT machine gun with a larger one, armed with an externally mounted 12.7 mm NSW.

In 1985, work began on the SPG-2A chassis, extended by one pair of wheels - up to seven pairs. It was to become the chassis for the Opal-540 artillery command vehicle, on which work had been carried out since 1986. In 1990, four prototypes of the Opal I version and two prototypes of Opal II were built , but in 1994 work on them was stopped. These cars also had a larger hull with side walls close to the vertical. Two prototypes of the Lowcza anti-aircraft artillery command vehicle were also built on the SPG-2A chassis , but in 1990 the program was discontinued [1] (according to other sources, the prototype was built in 1992). Also remained a prototype based on the chassis of ammunition transporter Bor for 122 mm self-propelled howitzers 2S1 built in 1987. The Opal II hull was used in 1993 to construct a prototype (demonstrator) of the BWO-40 infantry fighting vehicle with a Swedish turret with a Bofors 40 mm gun. Prototypes of anti-aircraft missile and artillery sets were also created on the Opal hulls: Sopel with two 23 mm cannons and Strzala-2M missile launchers from 1993 and Stalagmit / Sopel with Grom missiles from 1999.

On the SPG-2 chassis with six pairs of wheels, with a raised roof in the rear part, a small- series anti - aircraft defense command vehicle Lowcza-3 (three copies) was built in 1999-2000. Since 2005, 6 Kroton transporters with a mining system have been built on an extended chassis with a transport compartment replaced by a platform.

Variants

• LSPZRA Sopel - lekki samobiezny zestaw przeciwlotniczy [light self-propelled anti-aircraft set] - prototype from 1993 equipped with a twin 23 mm cannon and two 9M32M Strzala-2 M anti-aircraft missile launchers.
• WPT Mors WPT / DTP - wóz pogotowia technicznego [technical ambulance vehicle] - equipped with, among others in a crane with a fixed reach and lifting capacity of 15 kNm, a hydraulic winch with a pulling force of 60 kN, a welding set, a towing device with a double-sided shock-absorbing mechanism, an evacuation and repair kit, electric and gas welding devices, a trench blade.
• Bor - a prototype ammunition vehicle (for self-propelled artillery subunits)
• TRI Hors - transporter rozpoznania inzynieryjnego [engineering reconnaissance transporter]
• TRI-D Durian - an engineering transporter developed by TRI Hors, additionally equipped with the UZR-3 mine detection system
• ZWD-10R Lowcza 3 - zautomatyzowany wóz dowodzenia [automated air defense command vehicle]
• Lotos - armored ambulance carrier

Opal-II - the latest version with an engine of 300 HP (220 kW)

• Stalagmit / Sopel - light self-propelled anti-aircraft set - prototype presented in 1999, with a twin 23 mm model 4216 anti-aircraft gun, 4 Grom anti-aircraft missile launchers and an optronic head.
• ISM Kroton - inzynieryjny system minowania [engineering mining system] - with the UMN system (set for overhead mining set) outside - 4 containers with 20 containers for thrown anti-personnel or anti-tank mines. The crew consists of 2 people. Since 2005, 6 vehicles have been built.
• BWO-40 - bojowy wóz piechoty [infantry fighting vehicle] prototype from 1993, using the elongated Opal-II chassis and the CV90 IFV turret with a 40 mm Bofors cannon.
• 2S1 Gozdzik - 122 mm self-propelled howitzer based on an elongated Opal-II chassis - license

LPG - Lekkie Podwozie Gasienicowe [Light Tracked Chassisn aka Uniwersalny Nosnik Gasienicowy - Universal Tracked Carrier] - a deeply modernized, multi-purpose Opal-II chassis with a modern power train.

Rak 120mm self propelled mortar

Poland’s Rak (Crawfish) 120mm self propelled mortar is the sort of turreted system that Russia had for years but never really caught on in the west. It’s built on the Rosomak chassis, which is a Polish-made variant of Patria’s 8x8 AMV. The RAK mortar was originally intended to be mounted on tracked chassis, but the Polish army eventually mounted it on their vehicles Rosomak (AMV modification). The tracked vehicles are based on the HSW light tracked chassis, though in 2013, at the MSPO exhibition, the manufacturer presented the implementation of a mortar on the chassis of the German Marder infantry fighting vehicle.

Currently there are two versions of the RAK – tracked (M120G) and wheeled (M120K). The latter is already in service (64 mortars and 32 command vehicles between 2017 and 2019) within brigades equipped with the ROSOMAK APCs. The great advantage of these systems is their high modularity, which enables them to be mounted on various chassis. Due to their low weight and modularity, the RAK system could certainly be mounted on vehicles such as Pandur wheeled transporters.

Observers expected the mass withdrawal of towed 120 mm mortars from NATO mechanized and motorized units because their survivability is way below acceptable. Modern battlefield saturated with surveillance assets, drones, counter-fire radars and air assets and with the enemy having strong artillery and numerous MLRS at his disposal, is a hazardous environment. Thus, solely the artillery that remain able to move constantly would be the only units standing a chance of survival. Time between firing the first round until the moment when the asset leaves the position and moves ~500 meters away should be shorter than 5 minutes. In a perfect world it would be less than 180 sec. For 120 mm towed mortars these conditions are virtually impossible to be met in real life.

Polish SPFC (Self-Propelled Field Cannon) equipped in an automatic mortar 120 mm (4.72 in) installed on track chassis (SMG 120) and vehicular (SMK 120), designed in Centrum Produkcji Wojskowej HSW. The vehicle is equipped in digital fire control system including thermal camera and laser rangefinder, thanks to it vehicle can be effective in day as well as in night. Data can be taken i.a. from unmanned aircraft "FlyEye". Mortar RAK can shoot remotely as a unmanned weapon, using commands and data transmitted electronically to a vehicle computer.

The 120mm breach-loading mortar has an automatic loading system with a capacity for 20 ready rounds. 26 additional rounds are stowed in the hull. The autoloader and mortar has a rate of fire of 6-8 rounds per minute. The mortar has the expected computerized fire control system that is integrated with the GPS/INS navigation system. This fire control system also allows for direct fire with a laser rangefinder and a day/night sight. A coaxial 7.62mm UKM-2000D machine gun is also provided.

Chief among the advantages of a turreted mortar carrier is the ability to provide protection for the crew. The Rak has STANAG Level 1 armor protection all-around, which means it’s rated to resist 7.62mm M80 rounds and 5.56mm M855 and M193 rounds fired from a distance of 30 meters. It’s also proof against fragments from a 155mm artillery shell detonated at 100 meters.

The basic combat task of 120mm self-propelled mortars is the conduct of semi-indirect fire, indirect fire, and point-blank fire at a wide range of enemy targets.Electromechanical equipment for 120mm howitzer “RAK” Furthermore, when loaded with special ammunition, the mortar is capable of illuminating or fumigating the operational area. It was design by consortium of polish companies HSW and WB Group.

The equipment provides: homing of the turret and mortar barrel on a target; and automatic loading of ammunition from repository to a lockchamber. Modern autonomous and automatic homing guidance and automatic loading is available regardless of the turret’s position. The M120 mortar turret, fitted with the C4I fire-control system, enables efficient and precise performance of fire task. The chassis ensures reliability and high mobility of the vehicle while retaining compliance with the highest ergonomic and crew safety standards and the ability of relocation by any type of transportation, including air.

In December 2016, the largest contract in the Polish arms industry was signed for the delivery of four division fire modules "Regina". In April 2016, HSW signed a contract for the delivery of 8 Company Fire Modules of 120 mm self-propelled mortars "RAK" which main component - 120 mm self-propelled mortar, has been developed from scratch in HSW. The company would provide, among others 64 self-propelled mortars, as well as command, repair, ammunition and reconnaissance vehicles.

At MSPO 2019 in Kielce on 3 September, Huta Stalowa Wola (HSW) revealed the latest iteration of the RAK 120mm self-propelled tracked mortar. The latest model boasts a heavily modernised chassis, using a modern hydro-pneumatic suspension system derived from the LPG (Light Tracked Chassis) programme, which incorporated a modified version of the 2S1 GVOZDIKA self-propelled mortar’s suspension system of Soviet origin, manufactured by HSW until 1993. Developed in 2004, the LPG was developed by HSW in 2009, based largely on its OPAL tracked amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC). The tracked version, which is destined to be deployed in heavy brigades, equipped with heavy armour, has yet to be ordered, but both types are available for foreign customers. According to a contract signed in 2009 between the Ministry of National Defence and HSW, a so-called ‘company module’ was to include both types. In 2016 Poland ordered eight company modules, each of eight wheeled vehicles.

Serial production and first delivery have started in 2017. According to state from 01 July 2017 Polish Army had 8 mortars RAK and 4 command vehicles. Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak announced in late 2019 that more wheeled RAK would be ordered soon. The contract concluded by the Ministry of National Defense with Huta Stalowa Wola for the supply of 64 automatic 120 mm "RAK" mortars based on the Rosomak APC chassis and 32 command vehicles would cost nearly PLN 1 billion. Each fire module includes: 8 "RAK" mortars on the KTO Rosomak wheeled chassis and 4 artillery command vehicles. The 21st Podhale Rifle Brigade from Rzeszów, the 17th Mechanized Brigade from Miedzyrzecz, the 15th Mechanized Brigade from Gizycko and the 12th Mechanized Brigade from Szczecin are brigades that received "RAK" mortars.

Huta Stalowa Wola worked to increase the rate of fire of the fire module. It is assumed to increase from six / eight shots per minute to about ten, and after the missiles are fired, Rak would leave the firing post faster, which would reduce its sensitivity to counter-batter fire. The current fire reaction time in the case of transition from the march to the combat position is a maximum of 30 seconds, and in the case of leaving the combat position after firing a shot - 15 seconds. The Cancer tower has been equipped with the Fonet internal communication system, the RRC9311AP VHF digital radio station used to maintain external communication, an optoelectronic sight for straight-ahead shooting with a TV camera and laser rangefinder, day and night observation devices of the commander, a circular observation system and the Obra-3 laser radiation detection system SSP-1.