Special to WorldTribune.com

LONDON — Israel has been recruited by Poland to produce up to 1,000
main battle tanks.

Officials said Israel’s state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
would be part of a consortium to produce Poland’s new tank, Anders.
They said Anders marked a light MBT prototype by Poland’s Bumar Group that could begin testing in 2014.

“The order will be placed with the Polish defense industry, but to boost the design and production phase, it will be vital to cooperate with top foreign defense manufacturers,” Polish Deputy Defense Minister Waldemar Skrzypczak said.

Under the plan, Rafael would supply its Trophy active protection system designed to stop incoming anti-tank missiles. The Polish Army has set a requirement for 1,000 Anders, meant to weigh no more than 40 tons.

This would mark one of the first exports of Trophy, which became
operational in the Israel Army in 2011. Trophy has been installed on the
army’s Merkava Mk 4 MBT, which operates around the Hamas-controlled Gaza
Strip.

Under the plan, Trophy would be installed in the turret of the Polish
MBT, which could accommodate a crew of seven. Germany’s MTU would provide a
530-kilowatt engine, with a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour.

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