The Prison Service is looking for new pistols

On Tuesday, March 19th, the Central Administration of the Prison Service (COSW) initiated an open tender procedure for the supply of 4000 sets of semiautomatic pistols chambered in 9mm x 19, including 3700 service pistols and 300 training pistols intended for dry-fire training, for its officers.

Photo: Prison Service

The deadline for submitting applications to participate in the tender will expire on April 23, 2024, at 10:00 AM. The selection criterion for the offer will be the price (60%) and the warranty period (40%) – with a maximum score for 108 months (the minimum warranty period subject to evaluation being 60 months).

The ordering party requires the fulfillment of the subject of the order within 150 days from the date of contract conclusion. The weapons are to be delivered to the Central Training Center of the Prison Service (COSSW) in Kule, in the Silesian Voivodeship.

According to the documentation, COSW is seeking a striker-fired (hammerless) pistol, operating on the principle of short recoil of the barrel, with locking of the bolt by tilting the barrel in the vertical plane (alternatively Single Action/Double Action, Single Action Only, Semi Double Action Only, or Double Action Only).

The pistol weight without the magazine should not exceed 0.85 kg, and when loaded, not more than 1.20 kg. The barrel length should be 100-125 mm, the overall length of the pistol 180-210 mm, the overall width 30-38 mm, the overall height of the magazine 120-155 mm, while the sight radius should be 140-175 mm. The durability of essential firearm parts should be not less than 30,000 shots.

Each pistol must be supplied with a minimum of two double-row box magazines, an extractor, a barrel cleaning rope, a gun cleaning brush, a holster for the firearm and magazine, mounting plates for Docter, Vortex, Burris, Trijicon, Leopold, Delta Optical MiniDot, C-more, Shield, Holosun, Swampfox Sentinel or equivalent optoelectronic sights.

The training pistol should be identical, except for a plugged barrel, a shortened firing pin to prevent firing, and appropriate markings.

Currently, officers of the Intervention Groups of the Prison Service are equipped with Walther P-99AS pistols from the FB Łucznik-Radom, and in recent years, Glock 17 pistols have also been issued to them. Additionally, they are supplemented with 9mm submachine guns PM-98/PM-06, 12-gauge pump-action shotguns Mossberg 500 Persuader (model 50577), and 5.56mm automatic assault rifles Beretta ARX160A3 in a modified variant.