Plans for the development of territorial defense in Poland for 2025 include, among other things, the allocation of specific brigades of the Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) their own artillery. In the initial phase, it is anticipated that the territorial defense will receive a certain number of wheeled self-propelled artillery units, Dana, with a caliber of 152-mm from the land forces, while the next step is expected to be the acquisition of 105-mm artillery systems, the type of which has not yet been specified.
Moreover, the provision of artillery is planned both for the existing TDF brigades and for those that will be formed in 2025 to cover the so-called "Eastern Shield." This information is detailed in a publication by the Polish portal Defence24.
As the authors of the publication elaborate, currently, the Polish territorial defense comprises 20 brigades, with a total of 42,500 military personnel; meanwhile, the average level of equipment in Polish TDF brigades stands at 70.9% of what is required, although some brigades have an equipment level below 70%.
If we consider the plans announced for 2024, only six existing brigades of the Polish TDF and two out of four covering the "Eastern Shield" are expected to receive their artillery, with the acquisition of artillery systems likely occurring between 2026 and 2028.
It is also emphasized that the artillery in the TDF brigades of Poland will be managed by fire support companies, which indicates the potential limited number of artillery systems that may be acquired. At the same time, the Polish military leadership states that it has not yet decided whether to opt for towed or self-propelled 105-mm artillery systems.
From Defense Express, we add that if we consider possible options for 105-mm artillery that Poland might theoretically acquire, the first mention would be the experimental American self-propelled artillery 2-CT Hawkeye, which was received by the Armed Forces of Ukraine for testing in the summer of 2024, about which we reported in a separate publication.
However, it is less known that towed 105-mm howitzers are also produced by France, specifically the LG1 Mk III, which currently has only exotic buyers, such as Thailand.
The manufacturer of the LG1 Mk III is Nexter (which is now part of KNDS), with a barrel lifespan of up to 7,000 rounds, a firing rate of up to 12 rounds per minute, and a firing range of 2 to 17 kilometers, with an export price of 2.25 million dollars (as of 2023).
