The first batch of South Korean howitzers reached the Polish coast on Monday, 5 December. Contracts for the arrival of the first 180 tanks by 2025 and over 200 howitzers by 2026 were signed in late August.
As TVP World reports, the framework agreement with Hyundai Rotem provides for the purchase of a total of 1,000 K2 tanks and its polonised development version K2PL, together with technical protection vehicles, engineering support, and associated bridges, among others.
In turn, the framework agreement with Hanwha Defense involves a total of 672 K9A1 howitzers and its polonised K9PL version, as well as accompanying vehicles, an ammunition stockpile, a training and logistics package, and the manufacturer’s technical support.
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Polish President Andrzej Duda and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak were both at the port of Gdynia to welcome the massive shipment of K2 tanks and K9A1 howitzers ordered earlier this year.
Duda welcomed Warsaw’s recent purchase with enthusiasm. “Only the heroism of a soldier equipped with modern, effective weaponry can stop Russian imperial ambitions and Russian brutality,” he stressed during the official ceremony. Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak referred to a well-equipped military as “the best deterrent against an aggressor.”
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Under the Homeland Defence Act passed last winter, the Polish government decided to double the size of its armed forces and increase defence spending from 2.2% currently to at least 3% next year. Such military reinforcement would make Poland NATO’s third-biggest relative spender, behind Greece (3.8%) and the United States (3.5%).
Image: Twitter (@MON_GOV_PL)
Author: Sébastien Meuwissen
