Battle tanks from South Korea
Poland bypasses Germany in arms deal
08/27/2022, 3:25 p.m
A gigantic arms deal between Poland and South Korea is also a vote of no confidence in Berlin. Chancellor Scholz’s reluctance to deliver arms to Ukraine could take revenge: German companies get nothing. Out of disappointment, they say in Warsaw.
In view of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, Poland is buying heavy war equipment from South Korea for around $5.8 billion. The authorities in Seoul said that Poland had agreed, among other things, to supply K2 Black Panther tanks and K9 self-propelled howitzers with two South Korean armaments companies. NATO member Poland recently decided to expand its arms imports in response to Russian aggression.
The contract signed with Poland on Friday is part of a larger arms deal that both countries had agreed on in July. No official information was given on the total volume. It has been estimated at up to $15 billion in South Korean media. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has been in office since May, has spoken out in favor of increased security cooperation with European countries. He also wants to promote his country’s armaments industry, also with a view to the tensions with North Korea.
“German delivery times too long, trust tarnished”
The armaments deal envisages the delivery of 180 K2 main battle tanks by 2025 – along with training and logistics packages and ammunition. Poland is also buying 212 K9 self-propelled howitzers from South Korea, 24 of which are to be delivered this year. The howitzers are intended to replace guns that Poland has passed on to Ukraine. According to South Korea, Friday’s contract covers a first tranche.
The “Welt am Sonntag” reported, citing Polish government circles, that German armaments companies such as Rheinmetall or Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) were not receiving any orders from Warsaw. Poland said the German delivery times were too long given the Russian threat. In addition, Poland is disappointed with the hesitant German attitude to the delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine. In Warsaw, for example, one wonders whether one can rely on deliveries of ammunition from Germany when the Russian army crosses the border into Poland.