Polish military modernisation & why are they buying Korean tanks? - Featuring @TheChieftainsHatch

Sponsored by World Of Tanks - If you're interested, use the following link to sign up: http://bit.ly/3UuHS1h In the video I'm pretty sure I say you get the Matilda Black Prince - it's actually the Excelsior, which is a decent tank capable of moving faster than walking speed (unlike my TOG II). You also get a bunch of in game currency, seven days of premium, and rental access to three solid vehicles - Tiger, Cromwell, and T-34/85. Only for new players though! Importantly though - I want to stress the Chieftain is appearing in a personal capacity for his video segment, not as a rep of Wargaming or WoT. Description: Military modernisation is a complex task for any state. Individual system selection is usually based on competitive trials and an extensive review and evaluation process. Usually. Poland's plans are a little different - ordering what is basically an entire new army's worth of equipment (with more tanks than many other major European states combined) from the Republic of Korea without any sort of extended trials process. In this episode, I ask the question of why a country in Europe would suddenly buy 1,000 tanks and hundreds of artillery pieces from a country half way around the world without so much as a trials program for the tank. To comment on why Poland may have selected the K2 - I've invited back the Chieftain to give a tanker's expert view on the question. Thank you as always for engaging with this study of defence economics in action, and we'll return to topics examining the Ukraine war next week. Caveats: There are two big caveats over this one. The first is that announcements (as used as a key source here) doesn't always mean a program will deliver on time or as announced. 1,000 tanks ordered could become 500, delivery times might change etc. In fact, I'd go so far as to say they PROBABLY WILL change in many respects. This is a massive block of procurement that will challenge the heck out of any procurement office, let alone one that has not had to deal with this volume in recent years. The second is that some statements are based on what you might call industry rumour, scuttlebutt, 'common knowledge' or what have you. I have tried to flag these where they come up. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/PerunAU Sources & Further Reading: 2021 platform figures are MB2021 as usual for the sake of consistency between episodes. NATO expenditure figures are per NATO as normal: https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_193983.htm For PPP calculations - see detailed sourcing in my video on European Defence Polish announcement on domestic production: https://www.gov.pl/web/national-defence/himars-and-k239-chunmoo-launchers-will-be-partially-produced-in-poland RE: Technical modernisation plans https://defence24.com/armed-forces/poland-to-spend-133-billion-on-modernization-of-the-armed-forces-new-f-16-to-be-ordered Polish MoD publications: https://www.gov.pl/web/national-defence/defenceconcept-publication Polish Abrams Procurement announcement example: https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/04/05/poland-signs-475-billion-abrams-tank-deal-as-russias-war-speeds-procurements/ "USAF plan to Divest to Invest is too risky" - Gen. John Michael Loh (ret.) (presented without either endorsement or critique) https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2022/11/16/us-air-forces-divest-to-invest-plan-is-too-risky/ K9 production for Poland: https://www.edrmagazine.eu/hanwha-rolls-out-24-k9pl-howitzers-for-poland Timestamps: 00:00:00 — OPENING WORDS 00:02:06 — WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT 00:03:04 — SPONSOR: WORLD OF TANKS 00:04:32 — *THE POLISH MILITARY* 00:04:44 — A Cold War Force 00:06:23 — Between East and West 00:07:42 — The Military of 2021 00:08:20 — Designed with Purpose 00:10:32 — Poland's Competing Requirements 00:12:03 — The Polish DIB 00:13:13 — Borsuk & Krab 00:14:12 — *THE BUYING SPREE* 00:15:34 — K2 00:16:10 — K9 00:16:56 — K239 00:19:34 — FA-50 00:19:57 — A "Diverse" Fleet 00:20:54 — *HOW ARE THEY AFFORDING IT* 00:20:58 — Divest to Invest 00:22:34 — Budgets and Margins 00:24:03 — But it is Expensive 00:25:15 — *WHY KOREAN* 00:25:25 — An Extensive Order Book 00:26:12 — *ASSESSING K2* 00:26:22 — Guest: The Chieftain 00:36:55 — *THE INDUSTRIAL DIMENSION* 00:37:27 — More Than Just Speculations 00:38:32 — *KOREAN EXPORT STRATEGY* 00:38:49 — A Growing Player 00:39:29 — RoK Arms Exports (SIPRI TIV 2001-21) 00:39:53 — Competitive Advantages 00:41:21 — Playing to Their Strengths 00:42:20 — The Strategy 00:43:31 — *TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER & MARKET PENETRATION* 00:43:42 — S1: Imported Hardware 00:45:52 — S2: Domestic Production 00:48:05 — S3: Joint Development & Marketing 00:49:36 — *TARGET EUROPE* 00:49:54 — The European Market 00:50:57 — Entrenched Actors 00:51:43 — Evolving Tank Fleets 00:53:09 — A Third Competitor 00:55:20 — The Korean Offer 00:56:48 — CONCLUSIONS 00:57:50 — CHANNEL UPDATE