Poland embarks on tank production. An agreement signed this Friday in the presence of the Ministers of Polish Defense and South Korea confirms the production under license, on Polish soil, of the K2 southern Korean design tanks.
“Poland acquires production capabilities of these tanks. Of the 180 tanks ordered today within the framework of the execution contract, 64 will already occur in a ‘polonized’ version. The first three will still occur in the Republic of Korea, but the following 61 will be manufactured in Gliwice (south), with the Polish components,” said Polish Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.
If the exact amount of the contract has not been detailed, the South Korean news agency, Yonhap, estimates that almost $ 6 billion.
Industrial Power of South Korea
The contract signed with the Hyundai Rotem of South Korea follows a framework agreement signed in the summer of 2022, which referred to a possible acquisition of 1,000 K2 tanks, according to a recent IFRI study. The transfer of the first 180 copies began in the fall, vehicles taken from Korean shares.
There was a second lot of 80 vehicles in the autumn of 2024, the agreement that provides a significant transfer of technology between South Korea and Poland, precisely to be able to meet and, ultimately, produce from A Z, vehicles.
South Korea has become an important player in defense exports, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia creating large -scale contracts for the South Korean industry in Europe and the Middle East.
Seoul has signed very important frame contracts for the delivery of weapons, in particular with Poland, a member of the neighboring NATO of the two war countries. According to the last classification of Sipri, South Korea points to the tenth place in countries that export weapons. Poland is the first importing country of Korean teams (46%of Korean exports), far ahead of the Philippines (14%) and India (7%).
Poland, an emerging actor in defense in Europe
In addition to the thousand K2 tanks, Poland had also ordered South Korea in the launching systems of multiple rockets K239 Chunmoo, Self-propeller K9A1 and FA-50 combat planes.
Questioned by BFM Business in May, Léo Peria-Peigné declared that Poland had launched “a real increase in the skills” of its defense industry, with the aim of producing “in large amounts in the medium term.”
The Polish ambition has developed considerably since 2022 and the war in Ukraine, the Government dedicated more than 4% of its GDP to defense spending, the best NATO student, while the countries of the Alliance validated in June the principle of increasing its military expenditure to 5%.
In ten years, Poland’s military budget has more than tripled, according to IFRI’s study, “from 10.1 billion euros in 2014 to 34.9 billion euros in 2024”.
Source: BFM TV
