◀ anchor ▶
K-Defense hit the jackpot.
Poland has officially announced that it will purchase domestic weapons worth more than 20 trillion won, including K2 tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers.
When the final contract is signed, it will be recorded as the largest arms export ever.
Correspondent Dong-Hoon Jeong.
◀ Report ▶
At a top speed of 70 km/h, a tank running through the field fires shells.
It is a domestic K2 tank called ‘Black Panther’, the core of the army’s armored forces.
It is one of the most advanced tanks in the world, with 4th generation technology applied, such as an identification device that distinguishes enemies from allies through encrypted radio waves, and a network system that can share the battlefield situation with the command post in real time.
In addition to this K2 tank, Poland has signed a ‘basic contract’ with Korean defense companies to purchase domestic light attack aircraft FA-50 and K-9 self-propelled guns at once.
The purchase volume is 980 tanks, 48 fighters, and 648 self-propelled guns, and the export scale is estimated at 24 trillion won.
Although the final contract stage remains to determine the price and conditions for technology transfer, it is the largest single weapon export in history.
Poland’s large-scale arms purchase appears to have been made because it was urgently needed to expand its own forces as it provided a large number of weapons to Ukraine.
Defense Minister Mariusi Włashchak said, “We decided to purchase weapons because there was a need to strengthen Poland’s security.”
[신종우/한국국방안보포럼 상임연구위원]
“There are many countries in Europe that are not yet technologically advanced. It seems that there is a high possibility of further (export) expansion even in countries where avionics technology is not yet mature.”
Poland has also considered purchasing the German Leopard and the American M1A2 for tanks, but it is known that the US has stopped negotiating because additional production is difficult and Germany is in the position that only older models can be exported.
Poland will introduce 220 Korean tanks and self-propelled guns, which can be produced immediately, by the end of this year, and the rest will be produced in Poland in two or three years.
This is Dong-Hoon Jeong from MBC News.
Video coverage: Hae-dong Kim (co-research foundation) / Video editing: Bae Jin-jin
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