As the tension of the world situation after 2022 showed a trend of "overload", more and more European countries beganStrengthen your own armament,Poland is one of them.
However, Poland's choice of tank vendors is very different from what we would normally guess - yes, Poland, as the country with the largest number of main battle tanks in Europe and the world, has chosenSouth KoreaAs the ** merchant of its main battle tanks!
When it comes to Polish tanks, many people's first impression of them is that of "Soviet-made tank users" - in short, most of their impressions are still stuck in the era of the "Polish People's Army".
Despite the high performance and ease of use of tanks and armored vehicles made in the Soviet era, they were still Soviet-made tanks.
With the end of the 80s, the Soviet strategy contracted, the Polish People's Army was disbanded (1989), and the Warsaw Pact was dissolved (1991.).3), the collapse of the Soviet Union (199112) and other landmark events that take place, continuing to use the Soviet Union of the past ** for the present this will be"Hatred of the Soviet Union".As far as Poland is concerned, the main selling point is becoming more and moreOut of place
But how easy is it to instantly abandon the huge number of Soviet-made tanks and start anew, and redesign Poland's own tanks?During the Cold War, the long-term development of tanks was interruptedAs a result, Poland simply simply does not have the ability to start from scratch to study its own main battle tanks.
In this context, Poland has been purchasing tanks in large quantities since 2015 and is actively looking for people who can cooperate with it in design and development.
In February 2019, South Korea's K2 tank underwent a series of environmental adaptability tests and evaluations in Poland, which was highly praised by the Polish side - in conclusionThe K2 tank has all the performance of the tankThe Polish army was satisfied, and soon placed a large order, and a number of related schedule requirements have been developed.
The first phase, which is expected to take place between 2022 and 2024, will be funded and designed and refined by South Korea to develop the K2PL main battle tank that best suits Poland's requirements.
At this stage, the South Koreans will adjust the design of the tank in accordance with any requirements dictated by the Polish Ministry of Defense, which is also a stage that is still ongoing between the two sides.
The second phase, which is expected to take place between 2025 and 2028, will see the South Korean side produce a small number of vehicles on order and connect with Polish defense industry companies for technology transfer and personnel training.
At this stage, the Polish side will gradually replace the old T-72 Wilk and PT-91 with newly manufactured K2PL main battle tanks.
The third phase, which is expected to start in 2028, will see K2PL and its derivatives manufactured in Poland and gradually take over the subsequent production, repair, and maintenance.
From then on, the Polish industry will be able to autonomously master the ability to manufacture and maintain the main battle tank.
The Polish version of the K2 PL main battle tanks that arrived at the end of 2022 is the product of the "first stage", according to the report of South KoreaThe Polish version of the K2 PL main battle tanks that arrived in Poland is actually the product of the third batch of K2 main battle tanks ordered by South Korea from it for Polish localization
As the traditional European Internet giant, the "Korean of Europe", Poland will always show off when it has a little bit of money. The new K2PL is no exception.
It doesn't matter if the result is not to show off, immediately after the public exhibition, some good people climbed on the K2 tank and took out a ruler to compare and measure, and measured the armor on the surface of the tank.
From the figure, it is not difficult to see the frontal armor data measured by it-K2PL tankThere is a turret front to the weldClose to 700 mmphysical thickness.
To be sure, this armor figure is not low compared to the K2PL's 55-ton weight – even if it's close to 70 tonsM1A2C main battle tank, and the front of its turret is not29 inches (736.)6mm）
However, compared to South Korea's own propaganda in the 10s of the new century, the god-level main battle tank that "punched the T-90M, kicked the M1A2, penetrated 7 99A with one shot, and was immune to all attacks" is still a little far behind.
Not to mention anything else, the physical thickness of 700 mm on the front, paraphrased from the data of the American main battle tank, it is not difficult to know from the data in the Swedish test that the M1A2 main battle tank has achieved a slightly thinner turret physical thickness than now600mm anti-armor-piercing projectileData.
Applying a rough comparison to the Korean-made K2PL, we can also get similar figuresThe frontal part of the turret, which is the thickest in the whole car, is capable of achieving an armor-piercing bullet of about 600 mm
Despite the good results, it seems that in the face of our country's domestic 125-mm armor-piercing shells are not so good - after all, as early as 2021, our country's 125-mm tank guns already had effective penetration680 mm armorThe ability to penetrate this batch of K2PL that is consistent with the level of protection of South Korea's own K2 is completelyMore than enough
And in terms of protection, as early as 2011, in public propaganda, our country's 99A main battle tank has:
"The thickness of the frontal protective layer is equivalent to700 mmHomogeneous armor,BodyThe thickness of the protective layer is equivalent toTo600 mmHomogeneous armor, after the addition of a new type of reactive armor developed independently, the thickness of the protective layer is equivalent to 1000 to 1200 mm homogeneous armor".
Its protective ability can completely block South Korea's own propaganda video."Penetrates 700 mm armor "of 120-mm K276 armor-piercing shells.
What's more, on this day in 2023, more than ten years after this report was issued, it is hard for us to believe that 99A has not made any progress in vehicle protection.
Combined with this information, we have every reason to believe that the 99A main battle tank is completely sufficient to be immune to the attack of the K2 main battle tank on the hull and turret in the "armor-shell confrontation" link, so as to achieve perfect "penetration and defense".
In all fairness, the protection of the K2PL main battle tankThe comparison by the tonnage in which it is located is not badBut around 2010, South Korea's K2 was just out of the woods, and it was overwhelmingly touted by South Korea as the "world's first tank".Obviously overratedFinish.
The wind of the tank is often like the Icarus flying high in Greek mythology, and the more it is blown high, the more it falls from a high place, the worse it falls.
Nowadays, the K2PL, which "penetrated 7 99A vehicles with one shot" in the propaganda, now seems to beIt's just one of the many peopleThat's it.
Knowledge explosion training camp
References:
[1] Defense 24 Network "K2PL: Polish-South Korean Future Main Battle Tank. Recommendations with Supporting Opinions".
[2] Defense 24 Network "Poland-South Korea Main Battle Tanks Are Emerging".
[3] Swedish Ministry of Armor lecture "Armored Vehicles Today and Tomorrow".
[4] Global Network, "U.S. Media Compares China, the United States and Russia with the Three Major Main Battle Tanks Type 99 Superior in Firepower and Mobility".
[5] China Youth Daily, "Land War Tiger "Type 99".
[6] National Defense Science and Industry "Shocking Experience of the "King of Land War" 99a".