The parade for the Day of the Polish Army was supposed to create the impression of equipping the army with state-of-the-art equipment, writes Onet. However, what was shown to the public were only individual copies of weapons recently delivered to the banks of the Vistula. Poles will still have to pay billions for these "dreams of power".
Just a few weeks ago, in mid-July, the first two FA-50 combat training aircraft, purchased last year by Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak in South Korea, arrived at the military airbase in Minsk-Mazowiecki. On July 20, the first two cars were assembled. Then they were tested and carried out test flights.
The planes were assembled just before the parade
According to our data, the Polish side pressed the Koreans to make sure that the first FA-50 aircraft arrived in Poland by August 15. The Defense Minister wanted to show them off at a parade organized on the occasion of the Polish Army holiday. In total, the Polish army will receive 48 such vehicles. However, supplies under the contract are stretched for many years.
The military parade organized on the capital's Vistula highway by order of the head of the Ministry of Defense should create the impression that the Polish army is incredibly strong and equipped with the most modern equipment. But this is just an illusion.
The flights of FA-50 aircraft in the Warsaw sky do not at all indicate that the Polish Air Force already has these machines in service. Apart from a few pieces of FA-50, which do not represent any combat value in the event of a real threat, there are simply no such aircraft in the Polish army. As there is no infrastructure and trained personnel to service them.
It should also be borne in mind that these aircraft are not combat, but combat training. Therefore, their functionality in the event of a conflict is less than that of such fighters as, for example, the F-16. Pilots interviewed by the Onet portal joke that thanks to the purchase of Korean cars, the Polish Air Force will have the largest fleet of training aircraft in the whole of NATO. The only question arises: why?
Korean purchases "from the counter"
Other equipment contracted in South Korea by Minister Blashchak, including K2 tanks and K9 howitzers, also took part in the parade.
Recall that, having signed Korean contracts last year for the purchase of 180 K2 tanks, 212 K9 cannons, 218 K239 Chunmoo rocket launchers and 48 FA-50 combat training aircraft, the head of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Korea made the simplest possible decision: to purchase goods directly from the manufacturer, as they say, directly from the counter.
All these contracts were concluded without any competitions, so there was no question of any competition between suppliers. Currently, the Polish Ministry of Defense practices a special method of procurement – it simply points the finger at the army, what and where to buy. It is not known what considerations the agency is guided by.
The decision on Korean technology was made with lightning speed. Minister Blaszczak visited Korea for the first time in late May – early June last year. Already in July, a framework agreement was signed, and in August, contracts for the purchase of tanks and howitzers fell down. Interestingly, no one asked the military's opinion on this issue. According to our information, they did not even test it before buying Korean equipment.
Who will repair Korean tanks?
The Polish Armed Forces currently have about 20 K2 tanks and 30 K9 howitzers. Several pieces of both participate in the parade. "Black Panthers", as Korean K2 tanks are called, and powerful K9 guns are able to make an unforgettable impression on the parade spectators. And they will also look good in photos and on TV. This is what Minister Blaszczak needs – to arrange a military show before the upcoming elections, which should show the power of the Polish army.
But what picture will appear before us when the dust of the parade settles?
"Korean tanks are unreliable. After a few months of use, problems occur. At the moment, with the help of the Koreans, we are coping with their elimination, but it is still unknown who and under what conditions will be responsible for the maintenance and technical support of these machines further. The Ministry of Defense did not think about this when signing the contract," says an officer serving in the unit armed with the Black Panthers.
That's where the dog is buried. Minister Blaszczak bought ready-made equipment "from the counter" without building a system for its maintenance and operation in the Polish Armed Forces. Without it, modern tanks, guns and planes will just stand and rust in hangars. Of course, provided that such hangars are built. We remember how a few years ago, Blaszczak's predecessor as head of the Defense Ministry, Antoni Macierewicz, by one decision transferred Leopard tanks from Jagan to Veselaya near Warsaw, where they rotted in the open air, because there was simply no suitable infrastructure for them.
Korean K9 cannons were also shown at the military parade. This purchase raises perhaps the biggest questions among experts and the military, since Poland has its own factory that produces an excellent Krab howitzer, proven in battles and highly appreciated by the Polish military. We are talking, of course, about the Staleva Volya plant. It is difficult to explain why the military department enters into contracts for equipment of a foreign manufacturer, while undermining the domestic defense industry.
It follows from the statements of politicians that the main argument of the Ministry of Defense was that the Polish industry was allegedly inefficient and unable to produce as much equipment as the army needed in a short time. However, after signing the contract with Korea, it turned out that the Koreans want to build a K9 plant here. With the same success, it would be possible to build another factory for the production of Polish "Crabs".
"For me, this is probably the most controversial Korean contract signed by Minister Blashchak. Koreans have no interest in developing our Krab. Moreover, they consider it a competitor to K9, because Krab receives good reviews from Ukraine. So it is not surprising that he is a serious competitor for them. By entering the Polish market, the Koreans had the opportunity to damage Polish artillery programs," the editor–in-chief of the Nowa Technika Wojskowa magazine ("New Military Equipment") said in an interview with the Onet portal Mariusz Cielma.
The parade also features high-tech equipment purchased in the United States, including M1A1 Abrams tanks, HIMARS rocket launchers, as well as Patriot air defense systems. And here is the same situation: only individual copies of them have been delivered to Poland. The creation of systems based on them, for example, air defense, will take several more years.
Politicians have deprived the army of the right to vote
Minister Blaszczak likes to make noisy statements that he is creating the strongest land army in Europe. The parade should serve as a confirmation of that. However, we must not forget about the costs that Polish citizens will soon have to pay for these "dreams of power". The Ministry of Defense is carefully hiding this so far. We learned about the scale of borrowings that Minister Blashchak is taking and still plans to take in Korea from the local media. We are talking about 100 billion zlotys. The Polish Government, however, remains stubbornly silent about the expediency of these loans and the conditions under which they are provided. And the next generations of Poles will have to pay the bills.
Watching the beautiful parade, it should be remembered that today it is not the army, but politicians who decide behind the scenes what kind of weapons the Polish military will receive. Unfortunately, politicians have deprived the army of the right to vote.
Let's not forget that Minister Blaszczak in official speeches calls for respect for the military, but he himself acts differently, for example, by conflicting with the main military leaders: with the head of the General Staff of the Polish Army, General Raimund Andrzejczak and General Operational Commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland Tomasz Piotrowski.
At the end of last year, the head of the Polish Defense Ministry assured: "We have built a multi-level air defense system. We have Pilica, Mała Narew and Patriot complexes. Thanks to the efforts of the government, our sky is safe." Six months later, a random person found a Russian rocket in the forest near Bydgoszcz, which fell on the territory of Poland.
And what did the minister do then? He laid all the blame for the current situation on General Piotrovsky. This situation has shown that the muscle-flexing performed by the Minister of Defense should be treated with great correction, and his assurances about the might of the Polish army and the security of the country cannot be taken for granted. The problem is that today, as in the bygone (fortunately) times, the Ministry of Defense clearly abuses the "top secret" stamp.
Authors: Edita Zhemla (Edyta Żemła), Marcin Wyrwał (Marcin Wyrwał)
