Text/Fat Guy Eggplant
It turns out that Poland's purchase of South Korean tanks and fighters is not the end of its expansion, but the beginning of its expansion. A few days ago, Poland once again increased its arms purchases, and in the future, it may become the largest overseas customer of Apache Wuzhi. However, behind this "prosperity", there is a potential crisis that cannot be ignored...
According to the Global Network quoted by the Associated Press on September 9, a few days ago, Poland's deputy prime minister and defense minister Braszczak confirmed for the first time on social media a "big order": Boeing's AH-64E "Apache" helicopter gunship will win the competition and become a new generation of Wuzhi that Poland will use to replace the Russian-made Mi-24 Wuzhi in the future.
It is reported that the Polish authorities are ready to purchase 96 AH-64E "Apache Defenders" (the latest improved code name), the relevant information has been sent to the United States, and Boeing has also confirmed the matter. In addition to the purchase of this batch of arms, the Polish side also hopes to reach a technology transfer agreement with the United States in order to develop Poland's own helicopter industry. If the nearly $12.5 billion order comes true, Poland will replace the United Kingdom (67 aircraft) as the helicopter's largest overseas user, second only to the United States.
Some analysts pointed out that Poland may purchase more helicopters from the United States in the future. Considering that there are still a large number of Russian medium and large transport helicopters such as the Mi-8 and Mi-17 in the Polish army, Poland, which is bent on "de-Russification", has been regarded by Boeing as an important potential customer for the CH-47F "Chinookan" transport helicopter. Of course, the possibility of the Polish authorities choosing to purchase UH-60 "Black Hawk" helicopters is not low.
Recently, Poland has become the most enthusiastic country in the world to buy weapons. Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Poland, which felt that it was a great threat, quickly launched a "defense modernization" plan, while sending its own Soviet-made weapons to Ukraine, while ordering weapons and equipment from other countries in large quantities, claiming to build The number one army in Europe, and the Polish military top brass is even more hyped, within 10 years or with Russia "there will be a war".
So far, Poland's order of weapons and equipment has included three Sailfish-class frigates, three Comorland-class minebreakers, 116 Abrams tanks, 180 South Korean K2 tanks, 672 K9 self-propelled guns, 48 FA-50 fighter jets and hundreds of suicide drones and reconnaissance aircraft. The money to buy these weapons and equipment will come from Poland's increased defense spending: according to the newly revised Armed Forces Modernization Plan, Poland will increase its defense budget to about 3% of GDP next year, the highest level for NATO countries, and will also issue 20 billion zlotys (about 29.3 billion yuan) of defense bonds this year. According to this plan, by 2035, the overall size of the Polish army will be "doubled", from the current 110,000 to 250,000.
But while Poland is actively expanding its military, the potential crisis behind it is also escalating. The latest data show that although Poland continues to expand its armaments through the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Polish economy may be difficult to support: in the second quarter of 2022, Poland's GDP fell by 2.3%, and the country's economic level has reached the brink of a "recessionary state". To make matters worse, Poland is still facing a severe inflation crisis, with inflation already at 15.5 percent, the worst level since 1989 and the worst in Europe at the moment, well above the Fed's 2 percent "health standard." Experts predict that next year, Polish inflation will rise to 18.8%, in the face of this grim reality, Poland's "military expansion plan" may face no low pressure.
Some scholars believe that Poland's internal contradictions may erupt next year, and the contradictions are not only triggered by economic chaos, but also by the pressure of Ukrainian refugees – it is reported that about 3.5 million refugees are currently seeking refuge in Poland, and the total population of Poland is only about 38 million, which has seriously reduced the quality of life of many Polish city residents. Under such circumstances, the Polish authorities also wantonly expanded their armaments and disregarded the difficulties of the people's lives, which is quite normal if it really caused large-scale protests by the people in the country.