Poland to create strongest ground forces among European NATO countries

Poland intends to create the strongest ground forces among European NATO countries.

Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Blaszczak said this in an interview with the Sieci weekly.

“We will have the strongest ground forces among the European NATO countries,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

The Minister of Defense explained that in order to prevent any attack by the aggressor, the Armed Forces of Poland must be very strong.

“The Polish army must be so numerous and so strong that its very existence scares away the aggressor. The Kremlin does not attack the strong, they only attack when they see weakness.

Both in terms of artillery and in terms of armored vehicles, eventually there will be no one stronger than us in Europe. We will have the strongest ground forces among the European NATO countries,” Blaszczak emphasized.

According to the Head of the Ministry of Defense, this year, Poland will already receive the first Patriot air defense systems, as well as a short-range air defense battery identical to the British Sky Saber short-range system.

In an interview on the YouTube channel Wolski o Wojnie, the representative of the Armaments Agency of the Polish Ministry of Defense Krzysztof Płatek confirmed that along with the American Abrams tanks, the Polish military will also receive Korean K2 Black Panthers.

Korean tanks will come in three steps:

• Deliveries of 180 new K2 tanks (three battalions) should take place in 2022-2025. They will replace the T-72 and T-91. After 2026, these tanks will be upgraded to the K2PL version.
• Starting in 2026, 820 units (14 battalions) of K2PL tanks will begin to arrive. K2 Black Panther tanks are adapted to Polish requirements. They will be produced at a new yet-to-be-built plant in Poland with the involvement of South Korean enterprises.
• Later, a new Polish-Russian K3PL tank should be created, which should be developed on the basis of the K2PL.

Poland will also extend the production agreement for 96 Krab self-propelled howitzers until 2025 because of an additional order of equipment for Ukraine. In 2022, Warsaw will conclude a new contract for two divisions of Krab self-propelled howitzers (48 units) with delivery in 2025-2026.