Poland to buy South Korean tanks and combat planes

Deutsche Welle ^

[Mashood]

Just don’t buy the tanks with the Theta engine.

[DIRTYSECRET]

We sell them ours and Vlad gets upset. SORKS benefit from our protection. That protection is worth $5 billion/yr. Trump’s idea.

[Husker24]

Are the Germans not making good tanks anymore?

[kiryandil]

The Germans have been just a wee bit demilitarized by the proxy war against Russia, like all the rest off the Eastern EuroPeeing NATurd members.

[Clemenza]

Koreans are very competitive in all that they do. Germans are control freaks. Strivers with brains usually do better on the product side than controllers. Of course I am making this all up and Poles don’t care much for Germans or Russians so there is that.

[DIRTYSECRET]

I once heard that Mitsubishi makes the best tank.

[gibsonguy]

S.K. has become the world’s over achiever while Canada has a firm grip on the underachiever title.

[chajin]

The South Koreans will be their Seoul supplier

[Spktyr]

The Germans’ production is spoken for for quite a while. They recently released the Leopard 2A7 spec and new builds or upgrades are going to be occupying the lines for a quite a while.

Also, the Leopard 2A4 didn’t do very well in Syria with the Turks.

[FreedomPoster]

That’s on top of a pile of M1A2s? A3s?

[BroJoeK]

"Poles don’t care much for Germans or Russians so there is that."

I'm liking the Poles & South Koreans more & more.
At opposite ends of the huge continent, each facing possibly overwhelming enemies, they are tough, resourceful & unbowed.

Good for them.

[Spktyr]

M1A2 SEP v.3s, actually. But those aren’t were only ordered this last April and they aren’t going to be delivered until 2025-2026 at the earliest.

They already had a license agreement to build K2s in Poland dating back to 2020, but I think the Poles have decided they need more tanks *now*, and South Korea is already mass producing the things.

[Spktyr]

Second sentence should be: “But those aren’t going to be delivered for quite a while - they were only ordered this last April and they aren’t going to be delivered until 2025-2026 at the earliest.”

[FreedomPoster]

Thanks, I knew someone would know the details there.

And those K2s look reasonably capable.

And a ping to the Treadhead ping list holder.

[Mr. Blond]

They’ll get killed on the shipping. I would have gone with the Swedes.

[pierrem15]

Are the Germans not making good tanks anymore?

The main problem is that the pro-Russian SPD still controls the chancellorship and bureaucracy. Germany promised Poland it would sell Poland older Leopard tanks to replace the armor Poland sent to Ukraine but have been dragging their feet about delivery ever since.

No one in Eastern Europe considers Germany a reliable partner, and the SK deal will include a lot of tech transfer and co-production, so Poland will be able to produce its own hardware. The Polish defense industry is more sophisticated that many think, with it's Lightning MANPADs now being bought by the US Army.

[PIF]

Are the Germans not making good tanks anymore?

—

One or two a year if they are in the budget. Spare parts are extras.

[Joe 6-pack]

I was stationed in More from 95-98. The ROKs were using the K1 and K1A1 at the time. They're kind of like a mini-Abrams with less about 15-20 tons, putting it more in the weight class of a T-72 or T-80, and much more compatible with the terrain, road networks and bridge infrastructure on the peninsula.

They even borrowed the hydropneumatic suspension the US played around with on the XMBT-70, but didn't find itself into the Abrams final design.

[NonValueAdded]

The South Koreans will be their Seoul supplier

Seoul source contract, don'tcha know!