Skybird
12-20-22, 12:00 PM
The germans could and must learn from this: Die Welt writes:
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How Poland is turning its army into the EU's most powerful conventional force
In Germany, military rearmament is still making no headway nine months after it was announced. Meanwhile, neighboring Poland has been upgrading at a rapid pace since the start of the Ukraine war. Warsaw has been successful in doing so because it is taking a different approach to purchasing than Berlin.
It's a howitzer ballet: 24 self-propelled artillery pieces stand side by side or roll in front of each other with their massive barrels pointed skyward. One of the steel colossuses weighs almost fifty tons. On this snowy December day, they are handed over to the 11th Polish Artillery Regiment by Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak himself. "The point is to deter the aggressor," he says.
From now on, the unit will be stationed in Wegorzewo. Here, in northeastern Poland, the howitzers would have to fend off an attack from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad in an emergency. Poland wants to be prepared for this. Just a few days before the handover to the troops, the K9 howitzers and other weapons, such as ten copies of the K2 main battle tank, were therefore received in the port of Gdynia by President Andrzej Duda.
"Very often in such situations, when an order arrives, it is said that we have waited a long time for this day. Now I would like to emphasize with great satisfaction that we have not waited long for this day," the head of state said solemnly.
Duda sums up what is meanwhile perceived abroad, partly with astonishment, partly with appreciation: Poland, a frontline state, is rearming on a scale, but above all at a pace, that no other NATO country is doing - and without having proclaimed a "turn of the times."
While in Germany the budget committee of the Bundestag only approved the purchase decisions for the Bundeswehr from the special fund in December, Inspector General Eberhard Zorn called this step a "starting point" more than nine months after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz had to hastily convene representatives of industry for an ammunition summit, the neighboring country was further ahead.
In Poland, framework agreements were signed in July and purchase agreements with the South Korean defense companies Hyundai Rotem and Hanwha Defense in August - and the first tanks and howitzers were handed over to the Polish armed forces in December. By 2026, the delivery of more than a thousand main battle tanks is to be completed, plus 648 howitzers, 48 F-50 fighter aircraft and 288 Chunmoo K239 multiple rocket launchers, which are comparable to the American Himars. In the long term, Poland also plans to acquire 500 of the U.S. model. The deal with South Korea includes a technology transfer and the establishment of production facilities in Poland.
Polish officials constantly stress that the most urgent task is to receive certain weapons systems as soon as possible. The country is considered the most important European supporter of Ukraine; at the beginning of the Russian invasion, it handed over several hundred battle tanks, modern howitzers, other heavy equipment and drones to the Ukrainian army. From the point of view of those responsible in Warsaw, it is therefore particularly important to replenish the stocks quickly.
For the time being, at least, "gold edge" solutions are being dispensed with. Not all acquisitions meet the Polish Army's requirements in detail. The Ministry of Defense has decided to buy what is available, not only in South Korea but also in the USA.
Thus, Polish soldiers are already being trained on American Abrams tanks. The Pentagon has just approved the delivery of 116 used tanks of this type. 250 more in the most modern configuration are to follow, the first this year, plus large quantities of ammunition; for the first time, the U.S. will sell its M829 anti-tank or balancing ammunition with depleted uranium abroad.
In September, the U.S. Congress approved Poland's inclusion in the so-called Foreign Military Financing (FMF), whereby part of the Polish army's purchases are financed from the U.S., provided they are U.S. armaments.
This further enhances Poland's status as a key security partner of the USA. Not only has the country become a hub for Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, it is foreseeable that it will soon have the largest and most powerful conventional army in the EU. Even before the outbreak of war, Poland was considered a Nato model student, as it exceeded the two percent target.
In 2023, defense spending will account for three percent of gross national product. Jaroslaw Kaczyński, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, even announced an increase to five percent in the coming years.
However, there is also criticism in Poland of individual aspects of this unprecedented rearmament. Members of the opposition Civic Platform (PO), for example, are unhappy about the acquisition of South Korean howitzers. The reason is that the Polish company HSW produces a comparable howitzer that is already being used by the Polish army.
There is also irritation over the purchase of South Korean fighter jets. The standard jet of the Polish Air Force is the American F-16, but even before the outbreak of war, Poland had decided to purchase the ultra-modern F-35 stealth aircraft. What role the South Korean model is to play in this is not clear to many observers. [Skybird: it's about technology transfer and acquiring the capability to develop aircraft]. Some experts consider the upgrade to be too massive in principle. The many different battle tanks in particular are likely to pose logistical challenges for the army. It will also be difficult to find sufficient personnel in the next few years, even in Poland, where the army enjoys a good reputation.
However, the government camp, the opposition and the experts all agree on one point: the army needs to be upgraded - and quickly.
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How could all this be? Hasn't Bubble-Olaf said that the Bundeswehr before the end of his term will be the most powerful army in Europe? :D Have the Poles not gotten the German memo? :har:
-------------------------
How Poland is turning its army into the EU's most powerful conventional force
In Germany, military rearmament is still making no headway nine months after it was announced. Meanwhile, neighboring Poland has been upgrading at a rapid pace since the start of the Ukraine war. Warsaw has been successful in doing so because it is taking a different approach to purchasing than Berlin.
It's a howitzer ballet: 24 self-propelled artillery pieces stand side by side or roll in front of each other with their massive barrels pointed skyward. One of the steel colossuses weighs almost fifty tons. On this snowy December day, they are handed over to the 11th Polish Artillery Regiment by Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak himself. "The point is to deter the aggressor," he says.
From now on, the unit will be stationed in Wegorzewo. Here, in northeastern Poland, the howitzers would have to fend off an attack from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad in an emergency. Poland wants to be prepared for this. Just a few days before the handover to the troops, the K9 howitzers and other weapons, such as ten copies of the K2 main battle tank, were therefore received in the port of Gdynia by President Andrzej Duda.
"Very often in such situations, when an order arrives, it is said that we have waited a long time for this day. Now I would like to emphasize with great satisfaction that we have not waited long for this day," the head of state said solemnly.
Duda sums up what is meanwhile perceived abroad, partly with astonishment, partly with appreciation: Poland, a frontline state, is rearming on a scale, but above all at a pace, that no other NATO country is doing - and without having proclaimed a "turn of the times."
While in Germany the budget committee of the Bundestag only approved the purchase decisions for the Bundeswehr from the special fund in December, Inspector General Eberhard Zorn called this step a "starting point" more than nine months after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz had to hastily convene representatives of industry for an ammunition summit, the neighboring country was further ahead.
In Poland, framework agreements were signed in July and purchase agreements with the South Korean defense companies Hyundai Rotem and Hanwha Defense in August - and the first tanks and howitzers were handed over to the Polish armed forces in December. By 2026, the delivery of more than a thousand main battle tanks is to be completed, plus 648 howitzers, 48 F-50 fighter aircraft and 288 Chunmoo K239 multiple rocket launchers, which are comparable to the American Himars. In the long term, Poland also plans to acquire 500 of the U.S. model. The deal with South Korea includes a technology transfer and the establishment of production facilities in Poland.
Polish officials constantly stress that the most urgent task is to receive certain weapons systems as soon as possible. The country is considered the most important European supporter of Ukraine; at the beginning of the Russian invasion, it handed over several hundred battle tanks, modern howitzers, other heavy equipment and drones to the Ukrainian army. From the point of view of those responsible in Warsaw, it is therefore particularly important to replenish the stocks quickly.
For the time being, at least, "gold edge" solutions are being dispensed with. Not all acquisitions meet the Polish Army's requirements in detail. The Ministry of Defense has decided to buy what is available, not only in South Korea but also in the USA.
Thus, Polish soldiers are already being trained on American Abrams tanks. The Pentagon has just approved the delivery of 116 used tanks of this type. 250 more in the most modern configuration are to follow, the first this year, plus large quantities of ammunition; for the first time, the U.S. will sell its M829 anti-tank or balancing ammunition with depleted uranium abroad.
In September, the U.S. Congress approved Poland's inclusion in the so-called Foreign Military Financing (FMF), whereby part of the Polish army's purchases are financed from the U.S., provided they are U.S. armaments.
This further enhances Poland's status as a key security partner of the USA. Not only has the country become a hub for Western arms deliveries to Ukraine, it is foreseeable that it will soon have the largest and most powerful conventional army in the EU. Even before the outbreak of war, Poland was considered a Nato model student, as it exceeded the two percent target.
In 2023, defense spending will account for three percent of gross national product. Jaroslaw Kaczyński, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, even announced an increase to five percent in the coming years.
However, there is also criticism in Poland of individual aspects of this unprecedented rearmament. Members of the opposition Civic Platform (PO), for example, are unhappy about the acquisition of South Korean howitzers. The reason is that the Polish company HSW produces a comparable howitzer that is already being used by the Polish army.
There is also irritation over the purchase of South Korean fighter jets. The standard jet of the Polish Air Force is the American F-16, but even before the outbreak of war, Poland had decided to purchase the ultra-modern F-35 stealth aircraft. What role the South Korean model is to play in this is not clear to many observers. [Skybird: it's about technology transfer and acquiring the capability to develop aircraft]. Some experts consider the upgrade to be too massive in principle. The many different battle tanks in particular are likely to pose logistical challenges for the army. It will also be difficult to find sufficient personnel in the next few years, even in Poland, where the army enjoys a good reputation.
However, the government camp, the opposition and the experts all agree on one point: the army needs to be upgraded - and quickly.
-----------------------------------
How could all this be? Hasn't Bubble-Olaf said that the Bundeswehr before the end of his term will be the most powerful army in Europe? :D Have the Poles not gotten the German memo? :har: