NATO leaders have recently agreed that Member States will gradually increase defense output to 5 percent of GDP per year. Polish Minister of Defense Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz on Wednesday concluded an agreement to buy 180 tanks and 80 support army vehicles. Poles should sign the contract with the South Koreans soon.
“A great moment, a wonderful day full of good news for the Polish armed forces, for our armor industry, for the safety of our homeland, for building a large, strong and independent Poland,” the Minister commented on the current agreement.
10 years before the rest of NATO
From an agreement for $ 3.37 billion (2.85 billion euros), Poles have been promising to deliver K2 Black Panther in the mold in the coming years. The order was signed as a complete package in which not only the Seoul, but also the armaments industry with our northern neighbors.
The contract also includes logistics, arrivals service, training of their crew or equipment. According to Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz, this is a big business-one of the largest contracts for the Polish army.
State Secretary of the Polish Defense Ministry Paweł Bejda said today in Warsaw that without supporting and accompanying vehicles, new Korean tanks could not be used effectively. He complained that the predecessors at the Polish defense department for Minsttra Marius Blaszczak did not think of these vehicles in the original contract.
He claims that it is in the interest of taxpayers to buy everything in one package. He recalled that Poland is already spending almost 5 % of GDP for defense, while the rest of NATO pledged to 5 % by 2035.
Pillar of the Polish economy
The South Korean company Hyundai Rotem, which also produces, also produces train sets, and the Polish company Bumar-Labędy. The State Secretary responsible for the modernization of the Polish army claims that the armament industry is the driving force of the entire Polish economy.
K2 Black Panther is a South Korean Tank of Generation 3+. It is armed with a 120 mm smooth -walled cannon with automatic charging, which can use the latest types of ammunition. The secondary armament consists of a 7.62 mm machine gun and a 12.7 mm large -caliber machine gun. The advanced fire management system provides high efficiency of controlled fire over long distances.
The tank has a weight of 55 tons. With complementary protection systems, it provides relatively high resistance to ballistic shots and mines.
