There is one country in Europe which is poised to have more tanks than the UK, Germany, France and Italy combined by 2030. Poland’s number is set to exceed those countries’ 950 tanks after Warsaw signed a deal to buy and extra 180 K2 “Black Panther” tanks from South Korea.
The deal worth over £5.2billion (€6bn) will see 64 of the tanks produced in Poland as well as an additional 81 support vehicles in an agreement signed between Poland and South Korea on Friday (August 1). Ammunition, technology transfers and logistics also form part of the deal.
Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, hailed the contract on social media, saying in a post translated from Polish: “A great achievement for the security of our homeland and for our defence industry.
“The agreement marks the beginning of the process of restoring tank production in our country”.
The signing of the deal fell on the 81st anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, which saw members of the Polish resistance rise up against Nazi rule in the city during World War 2.
Mr Kosiniak-Kamysz pointed to those who fought the Nazi occupation of Warsaw as he signed the deal. In remarks published by Euronews, he said: “It is in the name of their memory, their heroism, that we also sign this contract today.”
The deal is the latest phase of Poland’s plan to expand its military might, which has been fuelled in the main by Russia’s illegal war on neighbouring Ukraine and a crisis on the border with Belarus.
Poland accuses Belarus of fighting a hybrid war which sees the Russian ally encourage migrants to enter Poland, Latvia and Lithuania via its territory in a bid to destabilise the EU states.
Relative to its NATO allies, Poland spends the highest percentage of its GDP on defence – 4.7%. Britain is currently aiming to reach 2.5%.
Once the tanks are built, the country will have 1,100. Just two other NATO members currently have more – Turkey, with 2,238, and Greece, which has 1,344. Figures for the UK vary, but it has been reported that the UK has 227 tanks.
South Korea’s Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-baek said: “The K2 tank, which will become the core of Poland’s security, will be a symbol of cooperation and peace between the two countries, demonstrating that we are thinking and acting together to achieve the common goal of peace.”
He added: “Today’s signing ceremony is not the end but the beginning and it will be an opportunity for cooperation between Korea and Poland to deepen further through the sharing of values beyond security cooperation.”
Besides its contract with South Korea, Poland has also bought Apache helicopters, Patriot missile defence launchers, Abrams tanks and HIMARS artillery launchers from the US.